He knew he had to get back to the base. He was probably already in trouble with Hammond, although the General had given him some time with Sam before Jacob came and took her off to see Mark. Thinking of Jacob made him groan. He hoped, for Sam's sake that the man would come around.

Giving his sleeping Major a kiss on the head he got out of bed. A quick stop to the bathroom and he'd head back to the SGC. He'd wake Sam before he left and tell her he was going. Hopefully she'd rest some more. He knew she needed the extra sleep with the pregnancy.

Grinning at that thought – he still couldn't quite believe he was going to be a father again – he headed down the short hallway. It was then he heard the sound of someone entering Sam's house.

What the hell! What was going on? People keep coming into places uninvited. He quickly walked towards the front door. At least he could be pretty sure it wasn't aliens. God, at least he hoped so. He really wasn't up for dealing with an alien invasion today!

"What the hell are you doing here?" A younger, beefy looking man stood just inside Sam's front door. It took a second to realize who it was.

"Shanahan. Hi. Whatchya doing in Carter's house?" That's right Jack, take the moral high ground.

"What am I doing here? I'm her boyfriend. I think the question is what are you doing here?" Suddenly Pete stopped and began to look worried. "Something hasn't happened to Sam has it? She's okay isn't she?"

"Yeah, she's fine – just sleeping. She's tired; it was a long mission." Jack just looked at the man in front of him. He really couldn't tell what Sam had seen in the man. God, he was shorter than she was!

"Oh, okay." Shanahan started walking down the hall, clearly heading towards Carter's bedroom. Jack reached out and grabbed his arm.

"No, just let her sleep. Why don't you come back later"? Pete jerked his arm out of the Colonel's grasp and swung to look at Sam's CO. He really didn't like the man although he'd never said anything to Sam. He knew she idolized him.

"Look, I think you'd better go Colonel. I know what's best for Sam. She's my girl and I'll thank you to stay out of her personal life. Now, let me go." He started to walk again but the Colonel simply stepped in his way.

"Carter is no one's girl Shanahan. She's a woman and a highly respected officer and scientist. I think she's the one who knows what's best for her. Look, why don't you wait for her to give you a call and she can explain everything. She needs some space right now. She doesn't need you barreling in and disturbing her."

Pete took a deep breath. He was furiously angry and wanted nothing so much as to pummel this man. But he knew that would get him into serious trouble – both with the police force and the military. The other thing was he wasn't so sure he'd be victorious in an encounter with the Colonel. Even though the man was older than him he looked to be in pretty good shape and was still a field officer.

"If she needs space so much then why are you here?" He looked at O'Neill and suddenly realized something. "And why aren't you wearing a shirt?" He looked more closely as O'Neill abruptly wrapped his arms around his chest. Oh my God! The man had rings threaded through his – uh nipples.

"And you're wearing body jewelry for God's sake." His eyes swung up to a very uncomfortable looking Colonel. He could feel himself begin to grin. Yeah, this was priceless.

"'Need to know' Shanahan. It's part of a secret Air Force Op." Jack really had to have Janet get rid of these things.

"Yeah right" he was now sure of it. O'Neill wasn't just an ass he was a pervert! "But that still doesn't explain why you're prancing around Sam's house half naked." He grew worried again. "What have you done to her?" He started to push past O'Neill. What if the man had gone insane and had hurt or attached her.

"I haven't done anything Pete. I drove her home because she was tired. She's in bed sleeping. I spilled something on my shirt and was cleaning it up when you walked in; I was just about to head back to the base." Okay, at least that part of the story was true.

The man still looked suspicious but he'd calmed down. Jack could feel a small smirk building in the back of his throat. This was the first time, since he'd found out about Pete, that the man's existence didn't rile him. In fact, a small part of him even felt sorry for Shanahan. Okay, it was a teeny part – a really, really small, teeny tiny, miniscule part – but it meant that he could be somewhat forbearing with the man.

"Just call her, Pete – or better yet, wait for her to call you. She will you know. She just needs to rest before …" his voice petered out. No, it was definitely up to Sam to tell the man. She'd be furious if she found out he'd said anything.

A small niggling doubt rose its nasty head. What if she talked to Pete and she discovered she'd made a mistake; that she really did love the cop and wanted to spend her life with him. How would he feel being the 'weekend daddy'? Don't go there O'Neill! You have to know Sam loves you. She wouldn't do that.

Worried now, and no longer feeling quite so cocky, he decided it was time to end this farce.

"Come on Pete, let's go. Sam needs some quiet and we're going to wake her up." He began to push the man towards the door.

"Are you going to leave without your shirt?" Pete looked back at him soberly.

Ah Crap! How in hell was he going to get his shirt with Pete standing there looking at him? Jack would have to go back to Sam's room to get it and Pete would definitely know where he'd gone. Now that thought was very disturbing. Don't go there Jack. What she did before you and she got together is none of your business!

"Ah no. Here, why don't I let you out and then I'll go get my shirt and make sure everything is closed up. See ya Pete." He opened the front door but the stupid man didn't budge.

"No, that's okay. I'll just wait for you. I think we should both leave together." He so didn't trust O'Neill. Something fishy was definitely going on. The urge to go and check on Sam was growing by the second.

Taking a deep breath Jack knew things were definitely about to hit the fan. He really didn't see anyway around it. He slowly turned and walked back down the hall. As he passed the bathroom he could almost feel Shanahan begin to twitch. He hoped the man wasn't carrying a gun! He walked into the bedroom and reached over to the chair where his shirt lay, innocently discarded in a heap. Oh, if you only knew the trouble you caused, he said silently to the guiltless piece of flannel. He turned back when a soft voice halted him.

"Are you leaving Jack?" He turned around and a sleepy, warm and cuddly looking Sam was looking up at him. She gave him a soft smile and patted the bed beside her. Oh, if he could only take her up on that.

"Shanahan is here", he said bluntly. He saw her face go slack and she stared blankly at him for a moment. He could then see the blood rush to her face and the panic appear.

"What did you say to him?"

"Nothing – just that you were resting after a hard mission. But he, ah, caught me without my shirt. I convinced him we both needed to leave you to sleep but he's waiting in the hall for me to get it." He held up the offending piece of clothing.

"He saw you come in here, to my bedroom?" She started to look sick, which really, really worried him.

"Yeah. I tried to get him to leave but he wouldn't. I'm sorry Sam, I didn't know what else to do." She looked at him blankly for a moment and then shook her head. "It's okay. Just go and tell him to wait. I'll be out in a minute." She stood up as if she were a hundred years old and began to grab her clothes. After a brief look Jack nodded and turned back to the hallway. Just before leaving he spoke, not turning around to look at her, afraid of her answer. "Do you want me to leave?"

"What? No, I think you'd better stay." Okay, that wasn't too bad but it didn't give him too much to go on. Nodding once he left her bedroom and almost walked smack dab into a furious Pete. He closed Sam's door and stepped in front of it, barring Pete's way.

"Let me in damnit!"

"No Pete. She'll be out in a minute to talk to you – to us. Come on, let's go sit down." For a minute he thought the man was going to refuse and try to force his way past him but he eventually calmed down slightly. Turning, he stalked to the living room where he threw himself down on the couch.

"There is something going on here, isn't there. I knew something was wrong when Sam didn't want to see me. I called her brother's place and he said Sam wasn't there. She lied to me. I want to know what the hell is going on and why you're here." As he'd been speaking Jack had put his shirt back on and was buttoning it up. Finished, he looked up at Pete.

"Sam will be here in a minute and will explain everything. I'm sorry Pete. I know this is hard but please be patient." It was what he kept telling himself. As each second passed he grew more and more nervous. He almost had to laugh – here he and Shanahan sat, waiting for Sam, both terrified at what the woman they both loved was going to say. One of them would leave here a happy man – the other would have his life ripped apart.

It felt like an eternity but finally Sam exited from her bedroom and walked to the living room. Glancing at her, Jack saw that she looked like hell. She knew that she held two men's lives – or at least their hearts and souls – in her hands and she didn't like it, not one little bit!

"Pete", she said softly. He looked like he was going to stand up and rush over to her but she put her hand up and stopped him. She needed her space.

Sitting down in a chair as far from either man as she could get she simply looked at them both from a moment. They were both good men, although very different from each other. Looking at Pete she saw a man who could offer a good, probably a happy and 'normal' life. But it would be without excitement, without wonder and discovery. And, probably most importantly of all, without much laughter. Oh, he was a dear, sweet man, but he didn't know how to take the worst life had to offer and make it feel bearable – make you have hope when there should be none.

She then turned and looked at Jack. She could tell, from his blank, stony-faced expression that he was hiding deep inside himself. He was terrified that she'd change her mind and choose Pete over him. For all his cockiness, his assurance in battle situations he was so lacking in confidence when it came to his personal life. She could understand that. He had suffered more than anyone ever should – life hadn't treated Jack kindly. Well, she was not about to add more pain to his life. She thought for a moment about what life with Jack would be like.

It certainly wouldn't be boring! No, it would be a life filled with love, with frustration, with passion. She was sure there would be times she would feel like zatting him or conking him on the head with a staff weapon – but she also knew she could count on him – she thought to the scene with her father today – no, Jack would always be there for her, would always make her laugh when things seemed darkest. He was her anchor, her world. No, she smiled to herself – he was her 'universe'.

She began to speak. "Pete, Jack – the Colonel - and I just got back from a mission where we were kidnapped and held prisoner for weeks." Pete sat up and looked like he wanted to go to her. He looked sick.

"Are you okay Sam? Were you hurt? Who kidnapped you?" Damn, he'd known something was wrong.

"I'm fine Pete. I wasn't hurt although the Colonel was." She put a hand up to stop him from speaking. She needed to tell this without interruption. "Please Pete, let me explain." She took a deep breath, trying to gather her thoughts. She had planned to call Pete, to tell him on her own, but she hadn't been quite ready. Now this was thrown on her and she had Jack to worry about as well. She really wanted to go over to him, to hold him and assure him everything was fine but she knew she couldn't do that with Pete sitting there. It wouldn't be fair to him.

"Pete, you know a lot of what we do." He nodded. "Well, we were on an off-world mission when we were captured by – an alien – who bred children to sell."

"A slaver?" Pete interjected with shock. They had an alien slave trade?

"Yes, a 'slaver'. He would force people to mate and have children and then he'd sell the children all over the galaxy."

"Oh my God – you were hurt Sam! Don't tell me – they wanted you to have one of these children. Did somebody, did somebody …" He couldn't even say it.

"Rape me? No Pete, nothing like that happened. The – uh –man who kidnapped us decided that he'd get a lot of money for a child from two humans, two people from Earth. One of the aliens who he was going to sell the child to hates people from our planet. He had a run in with the Colonel and considers him his number one enemy. So, the kidnapper tried to get J – ur the Colonel and me to…" She waved her hands around a little, not wanting to spell it out to her boyfriend (former boyfriend).

"What! He wanted you two to, to have sex and have a child together." Sam looked stricken which made Jack feel like crap. Yeah, this was going the way he expected.

"Pete, Jack refused to have any part of it. He refused to do it so they tortured him badly. They even threatened to cut – to make him a eunuch if he wouldn't do it. They fed him drugs and everything. It was awful."

For a brief moment Shanahan hoped they'd carried through on their threat but then forced himself to wipe that thought from his mind. No, he wouldn't wish that even on his worst enemy!

He turned to the Colonel, who he noted, was looking rather pale. "Are you okay now Colonel?"

O'Neill simply nodded. He didn't trust himself to speak. He'd already started to feel his world crashing down around him.

"And the uh – rings – was that part of it?"

"Yeah – part of the torture." O'Neill grinned slightly and Shanahan smiled back. At least he knew the Colonel hadn't chosen them on his own. "They can't get them off – have to have surgery." Sam looked up in surprise at that. She hadn't heard that and had been wondering why he was still wearing them.

"So, what happened?"

"The Colonel and I managed to escape and steal a spacecraft but couldn't make it off the planet before the 'alien' who wanted to buy our 'child' arrived. He'd planned to come and steal us and the other 'breeding' women. The rest of our team – you know Daniel and Teal'c? – had pretended to be soldiers with this alien's army and arrived with him. Anyway, we fought our way out together, saved the other women who had been kidnapped and made it home."

"And that's all?" Pete said sarcastically. "Just a little jaunt – get kidnapped, taken to another planet, fight aliens, return home and everything's just hunky dorey?"

"Yeah, that's it Pete." Jack knew how hard this was on Sam and was ready to go after Pete if he got out of hand. Sam looked at him and tried to tell him it was okay, she could handle this.

"No Pete – it was hard, very hard. You know I can't give you all the details, that's just a short sketch. But we did make it home in one piece and we did save the other women. But it's been very hard on all of us. That's why I needed some space. I really was going to call you today to talk but you beat me to it."

"Okay Sam, I understand, really I do. But what I don't get is what Colonel O'Neill was doing here with his clothes off. And you didn't spill anything on your shirt Colonel. I'm not an idiot!" Sam looked in surprise at Jack. What had he told Pete? He looked at her and shrugged, hoping to convey to her that he had tried.

She turned back to Pete. "He was here because I just had a row with my father and I was upset. He brought me home and insisted that I sleep. I was so tired that he helped me get in bed. I then asked him to stay with me. He took his shirt off and got in bed with me and we slept – no more than that."

"You wanted him to stay? Why Sam? Why would you ask your commanding officer to sleep with you?" When she went to say something he interrupted. "No, I know you just meant 'sleep', I'm not implying anything here but there is something going on and I don't understand it. I thought you loved me and yet you didn't want to see me – but you asked your CO to sleep with you. What the heck is going on Sam?" He sounded, not angry, but incredibly hurt. Knowing she was going to hurt him even more she sighed but then looked him straight in the eye.

"I'm pregnant Pete."

"Pregnant?" A strange light came into his eyes. Was it his?" He looked at her and knew instantly. "Who is the father?"

"I am", the Colonel spoke softly.

"But I thought you said you resisted?" Pete looked back and forth between the two Air Force officers. He couldn't understand what was going on.

"He did Pete. He resisted the torture and the pressure and the drugs. That's not why I'm pregnant. He didn't force me and we didn't make love because we were told to. Pete, I'm sorry. I've known for a long time that I had feelings for Colonel O'Neill, but they weren't allowed. So I decided that I needed a real life, I needed to be with someone I could love. When I met you I knew you were a good person, you were someone I could be happy with. I really meant to love you and hoped to spend my life with you. If this hadn't happened, who knows, but it did. It made both Jack and me realize how much we loved each other, how much we needed each other. We came together out of need, and longing and love. Pete, I'm so sorry. I never meant to hurt you, to betray you. If it hadn't been for the situation we were in we never would have done this. The fact is that the Colonel and I are together and plan to stay that way. We love each other and are going to have a family." She stopped, tears streaking down her face. She knew that she had hurt him horribly and felt like she'd just crushed something infinitely precious.

She felt a warm hand clasp hers and looked to see Jack kneeling on the floor beside her. He too looked distressed – he, more than anyone – knew what the other man was feeling. Now that he felt relieved that Sam wasn't going to let him go, he had it in his heart to feel compassion for the other man. He also knew how hard this was on her.

Gratefully, she pressed his hand in return. She wouldn't do any more, not now, not with Pete still there, but the close presence of the man she loved meant everything to her.

Pete stood up slowly; feeling like his heart had been torn from his chest. He was too numb right now to know what to do or say. He knew the anguish and the hurt and the anger would come. Right now he just had to get away. He couldn't bear to see or feel the love that existed between these two. No matter how kind or compassionate they tried to be, he was now the outsider.

He turned and walked towards the door. He only stopped once and turned around to look at the most amazing woman he'd ever met. He knew he would never find someone to truly replace what he'd just lost.

"I'm sorry Sam," he whispered. She looked puzzled at this.

"Sorry for what Pete? You didn't do anything, it was me."

"No, I mean I'm sorry I couldn't be enough for you, enough for you to love. I hope you have a good life." With that he turned and was gone. The two people left in the room sat silently, not moving.

Suddenly, a soft sound, a small cry, broke the stillness. Jack stood up and pulled Sam up and into his arms. Moving to the couch he sat down with her on his lap and held her for a long time as she sobbed into his chest. He looked up briefly and thanked the God he wasn't quite sure existed that it was not he who had left this place with his heart in shreds. Holding Sam even closer he breathed in her scent and felt her warm soft body and knew he had been blessed.