"Yeah," Sam sighed as folded her arms and waited for her brother to continue, "I thought so."

"And do you know what he's just after telling me?"

"I have an idea," she mumbled.

"So," Mark said, "when were you going to tell me that you had called off your wedding – and more importantly – why?"

"I was going to tell you tonight," she offered quietly, "once the guys had left."

"And?"

Sam sighed as she sat down on the edge of the couch. "And because it was the right thing to do."

Mark frowned. "I don't understand."

"I realized that going through with the wedding wouldn't be fair to either of us."

"I thought you were happy?"

"I was; at least, I thought I was." She hesitated when Mark's frown deepened. "It's been something I've been thinking about for a while."

"Really?"

"What did Pete tell you?"

"Before or after I asked him about the wedding?"

Sam sighed. "I'm sorry. I didn't think he would call you – I really wanted to tell you first."

He studied her for a few seconds before he sat down on the armchair to Sam's left. "Well, Pete's already told me his version. What's yours?"

"Mark –"

"No," he interrupted sharply, "my sister was about to get married and it's only after a phone call from her fiancé – sorry, former fiancé – that I find out she'd actually called the whole thing off. The least you can do is tell me what happened, Sam."

"What did Pete say?"

"Does it matter?" he challenged. "I want to hear it from you."

Sam pursed her lips together before she turned to face her brother. "I hadn't been happy for a while," she admitted. "I thought it was just wedding nerves and tried to keep going but… as time went on, I couldn't help but think that I was making a huge mistake."

"Getting married is a big decision Sam, no one is denying that," Mark said carefully, "especially after Jonas –"

"This has nothing to do with him," she snapped.

"Then what does it have to do with?"

"For cryin' out loud, Mark," she said as she stood up. "It took me two weeks to say yes in the first place. Two weeks. Shouldn't that have said something?"

"Sam –"

"And then dad –" She stopped abruptly and closed her eyes. "It doesn't matter."

A few seconds passed in silence before Sam heard Mark getting to his feet. "What about dad?"

Slowly, Sam turned to face him. "Before – before he died, dad said he wanted me to be happy."

"The last time we spoke, you said you were."

"Pete's a good guy, Mark," Sam said quietly, "and he did make me happy. He – he gave me a life outside of work and showed me what it was like to be with someone again."

"But?"

"But I also couldn't be myself. Even though Pete knew about the Program, I couldn't tell him about my work and no matter how many times I told him it was classified, he wouldn't let it go. Did you know he once followed me to a stake out?"

"No," he said quietly, "I didn't know that."

"We hadn't been dating long at the time," she continued, "but he almost got my team killed – and when I confronted him about it afterwards he said he'd been 'concerned' about my job; that it was dangerous." She huffed out a laugh and started to pace up and down the living room. "I know it's dangerous, Mark. I don't need someone to tell me that, and I certainly don't need Pete questioning my career choice. He wanted me to give it all up so we could start a family and get a dog."

"It sounds like a nice life, Sam."

"But what if it's not the life I want?"

Her question was met with silence but she refused to look away as Mark studied her. Finally, she sighed. "I do love Pete," she said, "but I'm not in love with him and I know that makes me a horrible person for leading him on for so long, but I didn't know what else to do. I tried to convince myself that I should marry him, but I can't."

"What made dad think you weren't happy?"

Sam frowned slightly. "What?"

"You said that dad wanted you to be happy," he said, repeating her words from earlier, "so, what made him think otherwise."

A sudden noise from the kitchen drew Sam's attention away from the conversation for a moment and she remembered that they had company – and that they had probably overheard some of their conversation. She gestured for her brother to follow her as she made her way through the kitchen and as she grabbed two beers from the refrigerator, she tried to ignore the way the General's eyes followed her every movement.

She stepped into the back yard and waited for Mark to close the door behind them. It had turned into a cool but clear night and Sam shivered against the cold. As Mark joined her at the railing, she glanced at him and handed him one of the drinks. He nodded his thanks, then turned his attention to the stars. Sam followed his gaze.

"I haven't stopped and just looked at the stars in years," he said after a while, before he took a deep breath, "Do you think dad's up there somewhere?"

Sam wouldn't say she was an overly religious person, but having been fortunate to actually travel across the galaxy – and a number of those times was with her father by her side – she liked to think he was now among the stars and watching over them.

"Yeah. Yeah, I do," she answered as she turned to face her brother.

He mirrored her actions and watched her; his curiosity having seemed to replace his earlier anger.

"So, how was dad responsible for the position you now find yourself in?"

Sam glanced over the back yard as she spoke. "Do you remember when we were kids and everything dad said or did was somehow related to the Air Force?"

Mark huffed. "Yeah."

"I'm not saying it was a bad thing," Sam defended, "but it was like he couldn't let go of the rules and regulations he lived by at work, when he was at home, being our dad."

"Yeah," he sighed. "I hated that sometimes."

"So, did I," Sam added with a small, but sad, smile. "I asked him about them once – the rules and regulations," she clarified when she caught Mark's confusion. "He said they were in place for a reason; that the Air Force had their own rules to help it run smoothly every day." She took a deep breath before continued: "It was so the officers weren't endangered and wouldn't compromise any work and relationship they were involved in."

"What does this have to do with you calling off your wedding?"

"Dad said the rules were important and made to be followed to help keep everyone safe. He believed in them so much, and wanted us to know what they stood for and why, that he wanted us to obey the rules he and mom set out in the house. They were there for a reason – and they weren't to be broken."

"I'm still confused."

"Dad told me not to let rules stand in my way anymore."

"What does that even mean, Sam?" She winced as Mark added, "What rules was he talking about?"

She blew out a breath and her gaze instinctively drifted back to her house. Through the kitchen window she could see her team talking to her nieces and nephew. Her gaze settled on one person in particular, and her lips twitched as she watched him give Jo a high five and a smile.

"It's him, isn't it?"

Her brother's question pulled her from her reverie and she closed her eyes as she nodded. She felt a tear escape and then heard her brother sigh before he took a step closer and pulled her into his arms.

"Can I ask you something?" Mark asked after a few minutes of silence.

Sam pulled back and met his eye before she nodded.

"Did Pete know about the General?"

"They met once."

Mark shook his head. "That's not what I meant."

"I don't know," she sighed. "Mark, nothing has happened between –"

"You don't need to make excuses."

"I'm not making excuses," Sam fired back as she took a step away from her brother. "I just –"

"I'm sorry," he interrupted with a heavy sigh. "I didn't mean for that to sound the way it did. I know you'd never –" He stopped abruptly, as if he suddenly remembered he was talking to his sister about her personal life. He sighed heavily. "I can't say I'm happy about this, Sam. Pete's still a good friend of mine."

"I know," she said.

"Look, we've both been through a lot the past couple of days. Just… give yourself some time. In a couple of days you might change your mind."

"I don't think I will."

He held her gaze for a moment. "No, I don't think you will," he conceded. He took a sip of his beer and headed towards the house. "In that case," he added over his shoulder, "I hope you know what you're doing."

TBC…