Sam took another sip of whiskey, allowing the amber liquid to linger on her palette, coating her tongue like a warm, rich blanket.

Hoping it would smooth over the anger bubbling inside of her.

She closed her eyes and held on, longing for the sweet strength of the liquid to wash away the hurt and bitterness biting into her heart. It didn't. And she looked at the tumbler with disappointment after she swallowed, the ice clinking as she turned the glass in her hand.

Joni Michell crooned in the background; the ever-relatable lyrics of pain and love seeping into her skin as she chewed the inside of her cheek.

The day's events flitted through her mind. Her eyes narrowing as she recalled the precise moment in which her life completely unraveled.

Midway through a gate diagnostic, she had been called into General Hammond's office. By itself the request for her presence was not altogether unusual. But when she walked through his door and saw the look on his face, she knew something was wrong. He looked...guilty.

That's when he told her about Pete and the background check he had ran on her when they had just started dating. As if it couldn't get worse, the General let it slip that the Colonel had known all about it as well, and never said anything. Unbelievable. He knew the entire time, through the dating, and the engagement…and he didn't say shit.

Earlier at the SGC:

Despite plastering on her best soldier face, General Hammond saw through the façade and knew she was pissed. "Now Major, at first I wasn't sure whether telling you would serve any purpose, but then I realized that if the tables were turned, I would prefer to know the truth myself."

Sam's jaw clenched, her gaze locking onto the floor in front of her. A corner of her mouth upturned in a sardonic smile, and when she glanced back up at him, she did her best to keep her voice calm. "Thank you for letting me know General." She cleared her throat, "There are some things I need to take care of sir, so if it's okay, I'd like to put in for a few days of leave to get things sorted out."

Hammond considered her carefully, noticing her anger and embarrassment. Also knowing exactly what she intended to do during her time off. He wasn't about to stand in her way. "Permission granted Major; SG-1 isn't due for another mission until next week anyway."

Sam's lips pursed together, "Thank you sir." She headed out of his office, not bothering to stop at her lab. The rest of the diagnostic would have to wait. She made it to the locker room to change in record time, almost running into Daniel as he crossed her path in the hallway.

"Oh, hey Sam."

Sam kept her head down, ducking past him. "Daniel," she managed, before heading inside, pushing the door with more force than necessary.

Daniel opened his mouth, only to close it again when the door closed behind her. Stunned into silence, he frowned at her terse response. It was obvious something was wrong, but following her inside was out of the question. It was the female locker room after all.

He opted to head back to his office instead, making a note to go by her lab in a little bit to check on her.

It didn't take long to end things with Pete. She called him and told him she would meet him at the station. When she confronted him, he stuttered guiltily...making it damn obvious that the background check wasn't just something that had slipped his mind. He had no intention of ever telling her. And when she handed him the engagement ring, he argued his position adamantly.

When that didn't work, he apologized profusely, telling her it would never happen again. She told him she could never forget it, that their relationship had been based on a lie and she was done.

If he would lie about that, what else would he lie about. Once her mind was made up, that was that.

As she took another sip, she thought of how she was going to deal with the other problem. The bigger one if she was being honest with herself. The Colonel had ruined her trust as well. He would've let her step into a lifelong commitment, based on a lie. After years of having her back, she thought his loyalty to her as his 2IC, as his friend, was infallible… but she was wrong.

Smirking, she tipped her glass to no one, toasting her drink to both of the men in her life. Her laugh sounded hollow in the empty room. Who was she kidding? The Colonel wasn't a man in her life, not like that. Maybe once upon a time there had been moments that led her to think, to hope, that something else could be possible. But now it was obvious; the idea of him being anything other than her CO was a dream, a fantasy…he was the ultimate forbidden fruit.

Whatever, it didn't matter anymore she realized during her next sip. The big question now was whether she could ever forgive him, or learn to trust him again as her CO. Was it time for her to move on from SG-1? She felt her mouth quiver at the thought. A tear slipped out and she angrily swiped it away with her fist as Joni sang amidst the sea of orchestra accompaniment, 'It's love's illusions that I recall, I really don't know love, really don't know love...at all.'

Well, that was it in a nutshell wasn't it? Ugh. Why did all of the sappy music seem to speak to her when she was depressed?

Silently berating herself for being so pathetic, she drained her glass before reaching forward and grabbing the small remote to turn off the stereo.

That's when she heard the knock on her door.

Turning her head, she glanced at it warily. No way she was answering it. Not for anything, not for anyone.

Her guess was that it was Daniel, and had figured he might show after the way she'd practically ignored him earlier.

But she wasn't in the mood to rehash everything, or to hear the sobering logic he was sure to bombard her with afterwards. No, she just wanted to be alone.

So she sat still and waited.

Except for a small light in the corner of her living room, it was dark in her house. And she found herself hoping he would eventually catch the hint and give up, thinking she went to bed.

Instead, there was another knock, a bit louder this time. "Carter?"

Sam scowled as her stomach dropped, her commanding officer's voice low and insistent. He was absolutely the last person she wanted to see right now.

She tried to ignore him, shaking her head in silent denial.

That's when she heard his key slide into the lock and the metallic rattle as he turned the knob and opened the door.

She cursed under her breath at her bad luck.

Damn.