Sam's Place - 1997

Sitting in the living room, Liz was busy braiding Cassie's hair while Sam and Jacob were out shopping for the final preparations for the evening. Everyone was gathering tonight to celebrate Christmas, which had taken place a few days earlier, but most importantly, Sam's milestone 30th birthday.

Liz hadn't heard from her brother since she'd arrived, but she hadn't tried to reach out either. She had gathered from Jacob that Jack had been called in to handle an urgent matter—a story about an excess of gamma rays detected by NASA* that seemed to be causing a problem for the SGC's cover and had asked Sam to find a solution to bury the issue. Sam had spent an entire night working on her computer to resolve the problem, glad to work remotely and avoid running into Jack in the base's hallways.

Absorbed in the cartoon playing on the TV, Cassandra suddenly seemed to snap back to reality when the show ended and switched off the device with the remote. She sat quietly for a moment, thinking, before finally breaking the silence.

"Are you really Jack's sister?" she finally asked.

"In the flesh!" Liz replied, finishing another braid.

Cassie handed her an elastic band and frowned. "Then why aren't you staying at his place?"

"Because I came to visit my friend, not my brother," the Irishwoman explained as if it were the most logical thing in the world.

"How did you meet Sam?" asked the little girl, her curiosity sparking a series of questions.

"She came to my place, in Ireland," Liz smiled as she recalled the time they'd spent together. "She and Jack stayed a few days at the estate."

Cassie seemed to process this new information. "Are Jack and Sam in love?" she finally asked, lowering her voice as if afraid someone might overhear.

Finishing the hairstyle, Liz tied the girl's hair and turned her around so they were face to face. "You know," she began, whispering as well, "the only people who don't know that Sam and Jack are in love are Sam and Jack."

The little girl bit her lip thoughtfully and analyzed the situation. "So, is it a secret?" she asked finally.

Unsure how to respond, Liz asked instead, "Would you like it if they were in love?"

Cassie remained silent for a long moment, pondering the question, before answering, "I'd like Sam to be the happiest person in the world."

"And do you think Jack would make her happy?" Liz asked, curious.

"I think, for now, he's making her unhappy," Cassie replied before shifting her attention to Colonel, suddenly getting up to play with him in the garden.

Liz remained pensive for a moment; a conversation with her brother was clearly needed, and she was suddenly looking forward to the organized dinner, which would give her the perfect opportunity to set a few things straight with him.

A few hours later, the party was in full swing at Sam's house. Liz had finally met the whole team, as well as Janet, and the two of them had immediately hit it off. Everyone had just opened their gifts, and Jacob had likely won the competition for Sam's 30th birthday presents by giving her a gorgeous Volvo P1800, which had instantly lit up her face.

Seizing a moment when the guests weren't paying attention, Liz slipped out into the garden for a brief respite. She was only half-surprised to find her brother there, his gaze seemingly lost among the stars.

Stopping next to him, she looked up at the sky as well, squinting in an exaggerated manner. Jack turned to her with a puzzled frown. "What are you doing?" he asked, surprised.

"I'm helping you!" she replied, continuing to scrutinize the sky with a serious and concentrated expression. "Looking for your brain, since it seems you must've dropped it light-years away!" she added before turning to her brother and hitting him on the chest. "Diane?! Seriously?!"

Jack groaned and took a step back, exhaling. "Elizabeth, I…"

"Of all the ways you could've messed everything up, you just had to bring Diane McCarthy!" she growled, hitting him again. "You send her the ring because she picked the new O'Neill, and you go running back to some airheaded bimbo?! What am I supposed to tell Grandma?!"

Jack stayed silent for a moment. He had met Diane after a mission, before meeting Sara. He had fallen head over heels for the young woman, who had broken his heart by cheating on him with the man he'd thought was his best friend at the time: James Mitchell.

Liz had picked up the pieces after that, which probably explained her reaction when Jack had introduced Sara, too worried about seeing her brother get hurt again.

Stuffing his hands into his pockets, he rocked back and forth on his feet without responding to his sister's blow. "Diane called me a few weeks ago," he explained, trying to avoid another jab to the chest. "James is dying."

"Cool," Liz responded immediately. "I couldn't care less, Jonathan." She glanced at the living room window to make sure no one noticed their argument. "You're going to get rid of Diane before she makes you lose the one who should be bearing our name right now!"

Sighing, Jack took his hands out of his pockets and rubbed his face. "Nothing happened with Diane," he defended. "She hoped, she probably still hopes, but nothing's going to happen."

Liz nodded and took a step back, visibly satisfied with her brother's answer. "Then can you explain why Nan's ring still isn't on Sam's finger?" she finally asked.

Jack chose silence as his only answer. Of course, he could explain that he had slipped the ring into his pocket thinking—in a moment of weakness—that it would make the perfect 30th birthday gift. He could also explain that Jacob's presence intimidated him: he'd known Sara's father, but that was nothing compared to General Carter. And, of course, he could simply say he didn't have enough courage.

"I need you to understand, Elizabeth…" he finally murmured. "I'm in love with someone I can't unlove," he sighed and paused before continuing, "but I also can't be with." He reached into his pocket again and pulled out the ring box, holding it out to his sister. "And it's killing me."

Liz shook her head in refusal. "Are you telling me the military is going to stop you from being happy? That a single rule is going to keep you from owning up to your feelings and send you back to Diane? Since when does Jonathan O'Neill follow the rules, exactly?" She crossed her arms, wondering how to knock some sense into her brother's head without having to hit him repeatedly. "Did you bump your head recently? Because things clearly aren't working up there."

"I'm not planning on going back to Diane…" Jack grumbled, rolling his eyes. "For crying out loud, I'm doing this for Sam," he suddenly burst out angrily. "She deserves the world at her feet, Liz, and her career…" He clenched his jaw, his gaze distant as he searched for the right words. "She's already made so many sacrifices. I won't ask her to ruin everything for an old man like me."

Liz was about to respond when they were interrupted by Jacob's arrival, who seemed to step out of the shadows. "If I may, young man," he said, approaching them. "Sam doesn't need you to show her how big you are," he raised an eyebrow at the ring box in Liz's hand. "She needs to know you're finally the place where she doesn't have to fight anymore."

*In 1997, the EGRET (Energetic Gamma Ray Experiment Telescope) instrument, carried by NASA's CGRO satellite, detected an excess of gamma rays, which was interpreted as a possible signature of radiation from dark matter particle collisions.