Chapter 2

Jack looked into his bathroom mirror as he finished straightening his tie. Bracing his hands on the sides of the sink, he bent over slightly and dropped his head to his chest, releasing a long breath.

Slowly raising his head, he stared at his reflection for a moment and knew that attending Sam's wedding would be even worse than being in Ba'al's torture chamber.

He knew it would tear him up inside as he watched Sam marry Pete but he had promised her he would be at her wedding. In all the years he had known her, he had never broken a promise to Sam and he wouldn't start now since this was the most important day of her life, and although his heart was breaking he wanted her to be happy.

He was waiting until the last possible minute to leave his house, wanting to spend no more time at the church than he absolutely had to. As soon as the wedding was over and he had spoken briefly to the happy couple, he planned to drive to his cabin for a few days, wanting to get away from everyone and everything that reminded him of Sam.

Wandering into his bedroom, he started to pick up his jacket when his cell phone rang.

"O'Neill."

"Jack, it's Cassie."

"Hey, Cass, how ya doin'?"

"I was supposed to meet Sam at the church but when I got there I ran into Pete. He told me that Sam came by and called off the wedding."

Jack's eyes grew wide. "What?"

"He's really upset, Jack. Sam told him she can't marry him."

Jack sat down on the bed. "I don't understand. I thought she loved him."

"Jack, she's in love with you. I'm just glad she stopped this wedding before making the biggest mistake of her life."

"Oh, come on, Cass, why would you think I'm the reason she called it off?"

"What else would it be? If she really loved Pete, she'd marry him, but she doesn't. Pete said that Sam hinted that there is someone else but she didn't say who. It can't be anyone but you, Jack. She's crazy about you but because of the regulations, she has always kept quiet about her feelings."

"Cassie, we can't . . ."

"Jack, don't start with me about those stupid regulations. You love her and she loves you and you both need to face this instead of ignoring what is so obvious to everyone."

"Where is she now?"

"That's why I'm calling. I'm at her house. I came here thinking she would be here but she's not and she isn't answering her cell phone."

"She probably wants to be alone for awhile."

"Maybe so, but if she hasn't answered her phone or shown up in a few hours, we should try to find her. I'm worried about her."

"Just give her a little time."

"Why don't you try calling her, Jack? Maybe she'll talk to you."

"I'll see if I can reach her."

"I'll be at home. Let me know if you do."

"I promise. Now don't worry."

"I'll try. Bye."

He felt elated in one way, but bad for Sam, knowing that calling off her wedding was not something she would do lightly. He decided to give her some time to be by herself before he tried to get in touch with her.

~oOo~

Sam cried as she drove out of town. 'You can't keep doing this' she thought. 'You need to face your feelings and stop running from Jack.'

Sam drove for a long time, not really paying attention to where she was going. She eventually crossed the state line into Wyoming, heading toward Cheyenne. Driving around for awhile, she pulled into the parking lot of a hotel, feeling physically and emotionally drained.

Exiting the car, she grabbed her overnight bag and suitcase from the trunk and tried not to look at the wedding dress in the back seat as she walked past the window.

Entering the hotel, she went to the registration desk and a woman behind the counter smiled at her.

"Hello. May I help you?"

"I need a room please."

"Certainly. Is this just for yourself?"

"Yes."

The woman checked her computer. Confirming there was an available room, she asked for Sam's credit card. After entering the information, the woman gave back the card with a key card for the room, and as she did so, she stared at Sam.

"I don't mean to pry but are you okay? You look upset."

Sam tried to smile and nodded her head. "Just having a bad day."

The woman smiled in understanding. "I have those myself sometimes."

Finding the room, Sam went inside, set her luggage down on the floor and dropped her purse on the bed. She went into the bathroom and stared at herself in the mirror. Her eyes were red and she looked exhausted.

As she stood in the shower, she began to cry again, thinking about the look on Pete's face when she told him the wedding was off.

After getting out of the shower and drying off, she dressed in her gown and robe.

Realizing she had been too nervous and upset all day to eat, she called room service and ordered a sandwich, soup and coffee.

After eating only half of the soup and sandwich, she was about to lie down when her phone rang. Cassie had left messages, asking her to please call her back, but she just didn't want to talk with her. Thinking it was probably Cassie again, she picked up her phone but saw that it was Jack.

She started to just let it ring, but realized that everyone would be worried about her if they couldn't reach her soon.

Taking a deep breath, she spoke softly. "Hello."

"Carter. You okay?"

Sam heard the concern in Jack's voice and the tears came again.

"No, sir." She paused as her voice broke. "I've made such a mess of things."

Jack could tell she was crying. "Cassie and I just want to be sure you're all right."

"I left Pete to deal with telling everyone the wedding is off, sir. I've been so foolish. I didn't mean to hurt him."

Sam started to sob and Jack waited a moment.

"I know you didn't mean to hurt him, Sam. Do you want to talk? Where are you?"

"I'm in Cheyenne, sir."

Jack raised his eyebrows. "Okay. That's not too far. Tell me where you are exactly."

"It's starting to get dark, sir, and I don't want you to have to drive all the way up here and . . ."

"Carter" Jack snapped. "Tell me where you are, Sam" he gently repeated.

Sam gave him the name of the hotel and her room number. "I don't know exactly how I got here, sir. I just drove around awhile until I found this place."

"Doesn't matter, I'll find it. I'll be there as soon as I can."

"Okay, sir."

"In the meantime, try to get some rest. Maybe you'll feel better."

"I'll try to, sir."

"Sam, you don't have to call me 'sir' when we're not on the base."

"Yes, sir."

Jack grinned. "I'll be there as soon as I can."

Sam wiped her eyes with a tissue. "Okay. Bye."

Jack ended the call, punched in Cassie's number and she answered on the first ring.

"Did you find her?"

"Yes, she's in Cheyenne."

"Wow. She really wanted to get away from everybody."

"She's upset so I'm going to drive up there and make sure she's okay."

Cassie grinned. "That's great. Jack, please don't put this off any longer. You two need to talk."

"I'll see you later."

"Okay. Good luck."

"Bye, Cass."

Cassie thrust her fist into the air. "Yes! Yes! Yes! It's about time!"

~oOo~

After calling the hotel and getting directions, Jack quickly changed into jeans and a sweatshirt and put extra clothes and his shaving kit into a duffel bag to take with him.

Getting into his truck, he knew it would take about three hours or less to get to Cheyenne. Stopping at a gas station, he quickly filled the tank and was on his way.

Driving a little faster than the law allowed, he thought back over the past few months. Sam had not seemed particularly happy when she had gotten engaged. The few times he had seen Sam and Pete together, she seemed to be a little nervous and on edge around Pete instead of glad to be with him. He noticed that Pete was constantly putting his arm around Sam, holding her hand or touching her in some way, but Sam seemed to avoid touching Pete at all whenever he was in their presence and it seemed as if planning her wedding had not been a pleasant experience.

As the time had grown closer to the wedding, he just wanted the day to be over with. He had thought about going to his cabin and not attending the wedding at all, but Sam considered him a close friend and she wanted him there so he had told her he would be.

Now, he didn't know exactly what was going on with Sam. Was Cassie correct? Were Sam's feelings so strong for him that he had been the reason she had called off her wedding? Should he even be going to see her?

He had known for years how he felt about Sam and he had regretted, so many times, that they let their feelings stay locked away. Perhaps now it was finally time to open the door to that room so he and Sam could be honest with each other, and do something about those feelings they had admitted to.

TBC