Author's Note: Thanks to all who've reviewed! Once again, the quote is from "Next to Normal".
"Watch me I'm falling
Maybe the falling
Isn't so bad after all."
Sam sat on the dock at Jack's cabin, fishing rod balanced across her knees. The quiet of the place, the stillness, was just what she needed after the insane week she'd had. Her eyes slid over to the figure sitting next to her on the dock, and she suppressed a snort of laughter. Jack—wow, it was weird to think of him like that and not be worried about it—Jack had fallen asleep. He was slouched in the chair, his chin resting on his chest, the fishing pole held loosely in his relaxed hands.
The very fact that she could sit here and watch him sleep like this was something of a miracle, especially given all that had happened in the last two years or so. Her genes had been tampered with by Nirrti, Daniel had come back to them, Anubis had started mass-producing his Kull warriors, she'd been stuck by herself on the Prometheus in the middle of space, Janet died, Anubis had attacked Earth, Jack got his head stuck in another Ancient device and spent three months in stasis, Fifth captured her, Jack received a promotion to Brigadier General and took over the SGC….Sam smiled at that last memory. She had greatly enjoyed Jack's speech, especially his line about being able to "do really cool stuff like this". At the time, she'd been stunned speechless by her promotion, but as she looked back, she could smile at the pride, love, and respect she'd seen in Jack's eyes that day. Unfortunately, it was one of the last times she'd seen that look, as he began to distance himself from her shortly thereafter. On the one hand, she understood why he'd done it: it wouldn't have taken much for someone to start a rumor that she'd been promoted because she'd slept with the base CO. On the other hand, it ate away at her, a constant ache in her stomach. She missed the closeness they'd had as CO and 2IC of SG-1, she missed the laughs they'd shared at team nights, and she missed his hugs. Granted, they'd never been a daily occurrence in the first place, but now that Jack was in charge of the whole base it was nothing the few that she'd gotten were relegated to her memories, with no real chance of any additions.
Maybe that was why she'd started seeing Pete again.
Granted, she did enjoy his company, but she'd been less than impressed when he'd followed her on a mission, and severely ticked off when she discovered he'd run a background check on her. But he'd seemed genuinely apologetic, and he hadn't been intimidated when he discovered what she actually did; in fact, she had to constantly remind him that "top secret" meant just that because he was forever asking her how work was.
Besides, he was someone to come home to. Oh, they hadn't been living together, but there were nights where she'd just go to his place, or would call him as she was leaving the mountain and he'd meet her at hers. The mere fact that he was there, was willing and able to give her food, a shoulder to rest on, hugs, kisses, or other physical comfort meant a lot to her. He was so sweet, and whenever she was with him she would push her feelings for Jack to the back of her mind and feel guilty for even thinking about Jack when Pete was right there.
It had come as something of a shock when Pete had proposed, but Sam tried to tell herself that her uncertainty was natural. She'd tried to find out Jack's opinion of course, but he'd been deliberately dense about the whole thing. So she took a deep breath and said "yes" to Pete.
As the months went by, however, she began to seriously doubt her choice. It was hard to talk to Pete about wedding arrangements when her Replicator twin had just tried to take over the galaxy, or when the Prometheus went missing with both Daniel and General Hammond on it. Her doubts only became more persistent after Pete met her father; it was obvious Jacob hadn't liked him, and, contrary to Jacob's assertions otherwise, Sam was pretty sure Selmak hadn't liked Pete, either. Even on his deathbed, Jacob had been adamant about Sam making sure she was happy.
She'd done some hard thinking as she watched her dad die, and all of it seemed to point to one thing: marrying Pete was a bad idea. As if to drive the point home, she realized that she'd never felt so safe and loved as she had as when Jack put his arm around her in the observation room above her father's bed.
So she'd broken it off. Pete had been hurt, and she couldn't deny that his anger and disappointment hurt her. But she'd also felt a huge weight lift from her chest, a weight that she hadn't realized she'd been carrying. When Jack offered for her to accompany him to his cabin on a fishing trip, she couldn't help but smile as she finally said yes. Spending time with Jack, Daniel, and Teal'c was exactly what she needed right now, and she planned to enjoy every moment of it.
And if she fell more deeply in love with Jack? Well, she reflected as she continued to watch him sleep, this type of falling couldn't be all that bad then, could it?