Disclaimer: Stargate SG-1 and its characters are not my property. No copyright infringement is intended.

Flashbacks are in italics.

The snow was falling heavily as the car in front of him skidded, so he gently touched the brakes to slow down to avoid hitting the car. The driver regained control of the vehicle and proceeded slowly down the highway.

He did not want to be out on a night like this, especially when he thought about where he was going. He'd much rather be at home with a fire in the fireplace, his shoes off and his feet propped up, watching an Avalanche game.

He turned up the heat in the truck and since he still had further to go, he turned on the radio to an oldies station. The DJ was saying that if you didn't have to be out tonight, then don't be out in this weather.

"Don't I wish" he mumbled.

So here he was, on his way to a party that he knew would not be fun, trying to act normal was not going to be easy. He wished he had a really good excuse not to show up, but this was Carter's engagement party.

His mind wandered back to the day when a nervous Sam entered his office and handed him an envelope.

Trying to look nonchalant but with his heart beating a mile a minute, he took the card from her, thinking it was probably a wedding invitation. Instead, it was an invitation to her engagement party, which was almost as bad.

"You will come, won't you, sir?"

He noticed her hands trembling and she suddenly put them behind her back.

Right now would be a good time for Thor to suddenly beam him away. "I'll try to, Carter" was the only thing he could think of to say.

He laid the card down on top of the stack of papers on his desk.

Sam just stood there, staring at him.

He finally looked into her eyes. "Was there something else?"

"Uh, no, sir. I hope you'll come, sir." She quickly turned and closed the door behind her.

He released the breath he was holding and watched through the window as she hurried down the stairs. He dropped his pen, put his elbows on his desk and buried his face in his hands.

He remembered the day of the zatarc test, when they had revealed their feelings for each other and Martouf had died. The team had met with General Hammond to discuss the day's events. The General knew that Sam was upset as she sat with her head down and stared at her hands. A few minutes into the meeting, General Hammond dismissed her to go home. She pushed her chair from the table, hurried out of the room, and the debriefing proceeded without her.

After their confessions that day, he thought about dropping by her house that night, but knew she was upset about Martouf, so he thought she would probably want to be alone. He had gone on home thinking about how much he wanted to be with Sam. He had wished so many times that he had told her that he didn't want to leave it in that room, that he wanted to find a way for them to be together. He had thoughts of retiring but knew he would miss being with his team and knew that Hammond would not let him resign. He didn't want to give up the fight against the Goa'uld and knew Sam wouldn't either. They both knew that the stargate program was the only line of defense protecting Earth and he knew that both his, and especially Sam's, expertise were needed. He wasn't about to ask her to transfer to another team or leave the Air Force, he respected her too much to risk her career.

For a few weeks after the zatarc test, he and Sam had been a little tense around each other but tried to act as if their feelings had not been revealed. They both tried to go on as if nothing had happened.

Then the day came when he found out that Sam was seeing Pete. He stood in the elevator and listened to her humming, and even though she said it was nothing serious, he had felt as if someone had punched him in the stomach. He hurried off the elevator as soon as the doors opened and since then, their friendship had not been the same.

Until then, he had felt that when the fight with the Goa'uld was over, he and Sam would make a life together. He would have spoken to her to see if she still had feelings for him. He would have turned down the promotion to Brigadier General and would not have accepted taking over as commander of the base if Pete had not come into the picture. It had hurt him deeply when she announced their engagement. He could not yet see himself retiring to his cabin and living a miserable, lonely life without her, so he accepted the promotion and was now running the base. But he hadn't known what a huge responsibility it would be to be in charge of so many lives. He hated sitting behind a desk, the endless paperwork, dealing with the President and the Pentagon, and not getting to go off-world any more. He didn't know if he could take seeing Sam every day when she became Mrs. Shanahan. Maybe it was finally time for him to retire.

Sam had invited Pete to a few team nights so that he, Daniel and Teal'c could get to know Pete better but knowing about the background check, and the more time he spent with Pete, the more he distrusted him. He wanted Sam to be happy but he didn't feel that Pete was the right man for her, not that anyone would ever be good enough for her. He had always been very perceptive at reading people, and when he had seen Sam and Pete together, he felt that Pete was trying to control her. Sam was a very independent woman and he knew that no man would control Samantha Carter. He didn't understand why she couldn't see what Pete was doing. But he knew he had no claims on her and knew he didn't have any right to tell her how to live her life. Sam knew that Pete had done a background check on her. That right there should have been enough proof that he didn't trust her. He didn't think it was like Sam to just ignore something like that. Was she so desperate for a relationship that she just overlooked that fact?

He had long ago admitted to himself that he loved her. God help him but he did. There wasn't any use denying it and he knew that Pete suspected that he loved her. He could see the look of satisfaction on Pete's face whenever the wedding was mentioned. The look that said 'stay away, O'Neill, I'm the one she agreed to marry.'

He just wanted to punch him.

He remembered a conversation with Daniel the day that Sam had invited him to the party.

Daniel entered his office, sat down across from him and held up the invitation that Sam had just given him. Daniel stared at him without saying anything.

"What?"

"Why don't you do something about this?"

"About what?"

Daniel rolled his eyes. "Don't play dumb with me, Jack. About Sam. She shouldn't be with Pete. You know it, I know it, Teal'c knows it, even General Hammond knows it. Are you going to put a stop to this wedding or not?"

He stood up, put the palms of his hands flat on his desk and leaned over to look Daniel in the eyes. "She has made her decision, Daniel. She accepted Pete's ring. I can't do anything to change her mind."

Daniel's eyes got really big as he stood, stared back at him and put his hands on his hips. "Have you even tried?"

"It isn't my place."

Daniel threw up his hands. "We both know what Pete's like, Jack. Are you just going to let her ruin her life and marry this guy that doesn't deserve her?"

"I don't like it any more than you do, but what am I supposed to do? Drop to my knees and beg her not to marry this jerk? She has to see for herself that he's wrong for her. If I try to interfere it may totally backfire and then she'll never speak to me again. I don't want to risk losing her friendship. I still have that, at least."

He sat back down in his chair.

Daniel crossed his arms. "Do you really love her, Jack, like I think you do?"

He sat there for a few moments. "Yes, I do. But what am I supposed to do about it? I'm her commanding officer. As long as she's leading SG-1, I will always be her commanding officer. I can't retire yet, Daniel, the President and Hammond won't let me. I have nothing to offer Sam."

"Nothing but your love, Jack, and she would take that in a heart beat if you would just let her know how you feel."

He sat silently.

Daniel sat back down. "Look, I love Sam like a sister and I don't want her to marry Pete any more than you do. I've thought about saying something to her myself. But you are the one person who can really stop this wedding. I'm pretty certain she loves you too. Teal'c and I see the way she looks at you. She's uncertain how you feel about her. She's settling, Jack. She thinks she can never have you so she's taking what's offered. That's why you need to say something to her and soon. You have to find a way to work this out . . . for both of you."

Jack came back to the present as he realized he was at Sam's house. There were lots of cars and he finally found a place to park.

He pulled up the collar of his jacket against the biting wind as he stepped out of the truck and slowly made his way up the icy sidewalk. He climbed the steps, rang the doorbell and Sergeant Siler answered the door.

"Hello, sir."

"Siler, how ya doin'?"

"Fine, sir, and you?"

"Just peachy. Lovely weather we're having."

Siler smiled at the sarcastic remark.

Jack glanced around the room and recognized some people from the base. There were several people he didn't know and thought they must be Pete's friends.

Sam saw Jack come in. He was wearing black slacks and a gray pullover sweater with his black leather jacket. Her heart skipped a few beats, thinking how very handsome he looked.

Jack entered the kitchen and she smiled at him.

"Sir, I'm so glad you came."

"Wouldn't miss it, Carter" he lied as he grinned at her while wishing he could sink through the floor. He stared at her for a few seconds. She was dressed in a light blue turtleneck and a pair of gray slacks that showed off her long legs.

"Could I take your jacket, sir?"

"Uh, sure."

He removed his jacket as Sam pointed to a small table. "There are drinks over there. I'll put your jacket on the bed with all the others."

He walked to the table and started to pick up something with alcohol, then changed his mind. Although he hated to be here, he was not about to drink more than he should, especially when he had to drive home in the snow, so he poured himself a glass of punch.

As he stood there, he chatted with several people. He glanced at Sam as she talked with one of her lab assistants. It wasn't often that he got to see her out of her uniform or BDU's. Tonight her hair was curlier and she was wearing more make-up than usual. She looked very feminine and beautiful.

Then he heard the one voice that he didn't want to hear and the face he definitely didn't want to see.

"Looks good, doesn't she?" Pete asked as he walked up beside him.

Jack took a sip of the punch and didn't bother to turn his head or respond. Out of the corner of his eye, Jack could see the grin on Pete's face.

"I'm one lucky man. Won't be too long now until we're married. Will you be coming to the wedding?"

Jack wanted to slap that silly smirk right off Pete's face.

"Probably. I want her to be happy."

Pete lowered his voice. "I'm sure you do. You love her, O'Neill. You just wish she was with you. I've seen the way you act around her. I've seen the way you stare at her. You want her all to yourself. But lucky for me, you can't do anything about it since you're her CO. After all, there are those Air Force regulations to think about so I think you should consider that and keep your relationship on a professional level."

Sam was watching as Jack looked down at the glass he was holding and spoke softly. "If getting married to some low life like you makes her happy, then so be it. She's a grown woman so she makes her own choices." He turned to face Pete and stared into his eyes. "But let me tell you something. If you ever, ever hurt her in any way, I'll make you so sorry you'll wish you had never heard my name, let alone met me and I also know lots of ways to maim you."

Jack didn't wait for a response but walked off into the living room.

Pete narrowed his eyes and stared at Jack for a few seconds, then turned to see Sam looking at him and he smiled at her.

Sam frowned. She knew that Jack didn't like Pete and knew he didn't trust him. He had been with General Hammond when they had told her about the background check. She had tried to tell herself that Pete was just curious, nothing more. She had tried to overlook the fact that he could have gotten people injured or killed when he had interrupted their surveillance of Osiris. Instead, it had been Pete that was injured.

She was brought out of her daydreaming by Daniel.

"You okay, Sam?"

"Uh yeah, sure, why wouldn't I be?"

"You just look a little distracted."

"I'm fine."

Someone in the living room got everybody's attention and asked Pete and Sam to join him as everyone became quiet.

"For those of you who don't know me, I'm Pete's brother, Mike, and I'll be best man in their wedding. I want to make a toast to the happy couple. Please raise your glass to Pete and Sam."

Sam looked at Jack, Daniel and Teal'c. Jack didn't raise his glass but stared at the floor. Daniel didn't have a glass but he looked uncomfortable as he wrapped his arms around himself and looked like he would rather be somewhere else. The expression on Teal'c's face said that he was not enjoying this moment.

Sam wasn't sure what to think of her three closest friends' behavior.

Just then, everyone turned as they heard the front door open and in walked Cassie. She froze as she stopped to see that everyone was looking at her.

Sam grinned and went to give her a hug. "Hi. I wasn't sure you could get here in this weather."

"I wanted to see you, Sam, so here I am."

Everyone went back to talking as Jack, Daniel and Teal'c came over to speak to Cassie and she gave each of them a hug.

"How's college?" Daniel asked.

Cassie grinned. "Great. I'm really enjoying my classes."

Someone called to Sam from the kitchen so she went to find out what they needed.

Cassie glanced around the room and noticed that Pete was looking at Jack.

"Why is Pete staring at you?" she asked under her breath.

"We had words."

Cassie raised her eyebrows.

"I told him he better treat Sam right or he'd be sorry, or something to that effect."

"I take it he didn't like being threatened?"

Jack looked down at his empty glass. "No."

Teal'c stepped in front of them and blocked their view of Pete.

"Is there not something we can do, O'Neill, to stop this impending marriage? I do not feel that Pete Shanahan is the right mate for Colonel Carter."

"Neither do I, Teal'c" Cassie agreed and Daniel nodded his head in agreement.

They all stared at Jack.

"What do you want me to do about it?"

Cassie sighed and rolled her eyes. "You know what to do, Jack, and you're going to be sorry if you don't do something soon." Cassie stalked off into the kitchen with Daniel and Teal'c following.

Jack let out a sigh, closed his eyes for a moment, then looked up to see Pete still staring at him.

TBC