Jack was glaring at Pete, his words oozing through clenched teeth. "It's time for you leave." His expression was cold and callous…his voice, dangerously calm.

Sam recognized the signs immediately. Signs that usually involved Jack taking a life.

She swallowed nervously. Realizing quickly that Pete had no clue who he was messing with; he was way out of his league here.

Pete turned his head, eyeing her accusingly. "So he's the real reason why you ended it huh?"

God, shut up. Her eyes flared angrily. "Pete get out now." She motioned towards the door. "I told you...I'm done, please…just go."

Oblivious to the very real threat in front of him, he turned towards her, the pain evident on his face. "Sam, please…." When his eyes drifted to her hand, he stopped mid-sentence, his eyebrows scrunching together in concern. "Wait, what happened to your hand? Did he do that to you?"

Hearing what sounded like a snarl from the Colonel, Sam shook her head emphatically. Jesus, she had to get him out of there.

Starting to panic, she walked past him to escort him through the open door…hoping he would follow. "Come on Pete."

Pete grabbed her upper arm desperately. "Sam wait…"

The repercussion was immediate. Jack's hand wrapped around Pete's throat in an instant and Pete's mouth opened in shock as he was propelled up against the wall next to the door with a loud bang. Pete's hands went to Jack's wrist, but the grip only tightened when he clawed at it. All she hear was the sound of Pete gurgling.

Oh no. "Sir!"

Jack leaned into him, baring his teeth next to his ear; his voice raw and quivering with barely controlled rage. "Touch her again and I'll rip you apart."

He leaned back slightly and looked sideways into Pete's eyes. "Tell me you understand," he growled.

"Colonel!" Sam's heart was in her throat, her panic outweighing her anger at she watched Pete's face turning precarious shades of red.

When Pete managed a small nod, Jack released his hold; taking a step back as Pete sputtered and leaned over, gasping for air. His eyes went wide as he looked up at Sam, his fingers touching his neck gingerly.

"Pete, just leave." She stared at him hard, begging him with her eyes to not say anything else.

Pete's eyes dropped from hers as he inhaled deep ragged breaths. Without another word, he turned to the doorway and stumbled through it.

Sam followed quickly and closed the door, locking it behind him. She leaned her forehead against it, breathing a huge sigh of relief before turning to face Jack...her heart pounding. "That was…. would if he reports you?"

Jack's face was still dark as he exhaled forcefully through his parted lips, trying to calm down. "I don't care, he shouldn't have touched you."

She looked at him oddly. He had to have realized that Pete was just getting her attention, he wasn't trying to hurt her. That's when she realized. No, that wasn't it. It was when Pete thought Jack had hurt her hand, that things took a turn. Just the accusation alone that he would ever lay a hand on her violently had been what flipped the switch. Pete grabbing her arm was just the proverbial straw.

Folding her arms over her chest, she met his eyes. "Where was that concern when I was engaged to him, knowing he lied to me?"

The darkness faded as he shifted, looking down uncomfortably.

She shook her head, rolling her eyes at his silence. "You know what? Stay…go…I don't care anymore."

When she turned back towards her bedroom, he barked in frustration. "Damnit Carter, stop!"

Sam stopped and spun around, mad that he had her trained so well. When she opened her mouth to lay into him, he raised his hands apologetically, interrupting her.

"Just give me a second here alright?" His voice lowered. "I'm not good at this."

Closing her mouth, she watched his hands fall to his sides and his palms rub against his jeans nervously. She couldn't help but notice how quickly he could switch from the overprotective CO to an awkward mess when he was forced to talk about his feelings. They stood there in silence as he hemmed and hawed, trying to come up with the words.

Sam closed her eyes for a moment, the alcohol and adrenaline dump seeming to take their toll. When she opened them again, he was standing mere inches away from her...gauging her carefully. Damn he was quick. His arm outstretched slightly, stopping short of contact. "You okay?"

She smirked. "Tired." He nodded. The fight was out of both of them.

Normally he would have suggested for them to talk the next day, and let her get some sleep. But he couldn't get himself to leave yet, not until he knew where he stood. And he wasn't going anywhere until he took care of her first. "I need to dress that hand. First aid kit?"

"Bathroom, under the sink," she muttered as she led the way.

Once they were inside the small room, he retrieved the kit and opened it on the countertop next to the faucet.

Jack held out his hand and she lifted hers, resting it on his steady palm as he brought his other hand up and unwrapped the towel carefully.

Dried blood covered the tiny cuts. It was nothing serious but he took his time cleaning her hand with the disinfectant, a lot more time than he would have in the field. They were standing closer than they needed to be and she closed her eyes, lulled by his soft breathing.

"You scared me you know."

His gravelly voice pulled her out of the haze and she looked up at him. He shifted his eyes back and forth from her gaze to her hand. "When you broke the glass, and I saw the blood…it scared me." He exhaled shakily and swallowed. "Just, don't do that again okay?" She felt her heart skip at his sudden vulnerability and managed a small nod.

He reached over for the gauze and placed it against her hand, his long graceful fingers holding the edge for a starting point. When he spoke again, his voice was so low, it was almost a whisper. "I do care about you; nothing has changed there." When she looked up at him again, he was looking down at their hands, slowly wrapping the gauze around her thumb.