Reflective Fate I: Division of Fate – Parts 1 to 4

TITLE: Reflective Fate I: Division of Fate

AUTHOR: Jo R.

EMAIL: Joey@Ram32.freeserve.co.uk

CATEGORY: AU (Alternate Universe), S/J UST, S/JR, *fluff*, angst and drama; romance (Kawalsky/Jan, Daniel/Sha’re) hopefully humour and character death.

CONTENT WARNINGS: Character death, Alternate Universe, Sam and Jack.

RATING: PG-15/M for character death and adult themes.

SEASON / SEQUEL: First in the ‘Reflective Fate’ series.

SPOILERS: COTG, Enemy Within, Broca Divide, Emancipation, First Commandment and various other small spoilers for season one through season three.

SUMMARY: Just one of the many paths that could have been chosen.. Continued in ‘Reunion of Fate’.

ARCHIVE: Heliopolis and SJA, Shipperworld. Anywhere else, please ask.

STATUS: Complete. Finally.

DISCLAIMER: Stargate SG-1 and its characters are the property of Showtime / Viacom, MGM/UA, Double Secret Productions, and Gekko Productions. This story was written for entertainment purposes only and no money whatsoever has exchanged hands. No copyright infringement is intended. The original characters, situations, and story are the property of the author. Not to be archived without permission. Feedback and constructive criticism most welcome, flames are not.

AUTHOR'S NOTES: I’ve changed some minor things (and some major things) to suit the story. Anyone who would be offended by a mean Sara O’Neill who makes one appearance, skip it. Anyone offended by Sam and Jack romance, read no further. The events of this story will affect the universe we all know and love in a later story. About ¾ of the way through this, I decided I didn’t like it. Let me know if you agree/disagree.

DEDICATION: Tanja, for reading it through and letting me know in no uncertain terms I had to finish it. LM, for reading and beta-ing. And to LM for threatening me so I couldn’t forget about it. The Shipperworld gang, and to everyone on the S/J list and *especially* those who frequent the S/J chat room – and all my online family! Also to the actors, writers and producers and everyone else who makes Stargate SG-1 what it is and who bring the characters alive so we can play with ’em in fics.

~*~

Part One.

~*~

The atmosphere in the briefing room was as relaxed as it could be. The General had yet to join them but they all knew he was only a stone throw away in his office which was adjacent and Colonel Jack O’Neill, the most senior ranking of the officers gathered, was lost in a world of his own. He played idly with the band of solid gold that he wore on his left hand, his brown eyes troubled.

Across the table, Major Charles Kawalsky watched his friend, concern etched on his face as he listened half-heartedly to what his friend and colleague, Major Ferretti, was telling him.

“ Hey, Kawalsky, you still with us?” Ferretti nudged him in the ribs lightly “ You look as far away as Doctor Jackson.”

“ He’s too quiet,” Kawalsky replied in a low voice, not wanting the object of his observations to over-hear. “ Something’s up.”

“ Who? Colonel O’Neill?” Ferretti looked over in the direction of their commanding officer, the man who had led them on their first and last mission through the Stargate and who was about to lead them through once more. “ He’ll be thinking of Charlie.” Ferretti’s voice was also kept low and quiet as the two discreetly watched their friend.

Charlie was Charlie O’Neill, Jack – Colonel O’Neill’s - seven-year-old son. It was a well-known fact that Jack and his son were very close; Charlie was his father’s world. In fact, Jack had taken early retirement a year ago in order to spend time raising his son and laying the ghosts of his past to rest. And Kawalsky, having been a friend of Jack’s for some time now, knew that Charlie was the only reason Jack stayed with his wife, despite their marriage being an unhappy, strained one.

The door swung open and Major General George Hammond entered, immediately prompting the other men in the room to stand and salute.

“ Gentlemen, take your seats.” The General gave them a curt nod and took his place at the head of the conference table as they all took their seats, all but Jack. General Hammond glanced round the room, his eyes falling on an empty chair. “ Where’s Captain Carter?”

“ Just arriving, Sir,” Major Samuels, an assistant to the General and a liaison form the Pentagon, answered almost immediately.

“ Carter?” The name somehow seemed to snap Jack out of his thoughts and he looked at the General enquiringly.

“ I’m assigning Sam Carter to this mission,” General Hammond stated what was already obvious in a tone that dared Jack to argue. Which was exactly what Jack did.

“ I’d prefer to put together my own team, Sir,” Jack responded as politely as he could, reminding himself he was no longer retired, something the uncomfortable dress uniform he wore reminded him of.

The General looked anything but surprised. In fact, to both Kawalsky and Jack, he seemed maybe a little amused? In the blink of an eye, however, his expression changed to one that was commanding and unrelenting. “ Not on this mission, sorry.” To them, he didn’t look very apologetic but neither was in a position to question him on it. “ Carter’s our expert on the Stargate.”

Stifling a defeated sigh, Jack leant over the table to write ‘Carter’ on his notepad. Next to which he scribbled a question mark. “ Where’s he transferring from?”

“ *She* is transferring from the Pentagon.” The voice startled him, not only because of what was said but also because of the unmistakably female pitch. Looking up and straightening, Jack watched as the voice’s owner, a tall and striking blond woman, entered the room and walked over to stand beside the vacant chair next to him. “ I take it you’re Colonel O’Neill.”

Before he could formulate a response, Sam saluted and automatically, he returned it. She gave him a small smile, her blue eyes bright with a child-like enthusiasm Jack rarely saw on anyone other than his son but which he found contagious and more than a little endearing.

“ Captain Samantha Carter reporting, Sir.” She finished her introduction, trying to ignore the warm, fuzzy sensations in the pit of her stomach. So this was Colonel O’Neill, he was almost exactly as she’d expected. A little more handsome in person than in the picture she’d seen but..

“ But of course you go by ‘Sam’,” Kawalsky spoke up, watching the two officers stare evenly at each other, oblivious to the attraction everyone else saw flowing between them like electricity. The air between them was thick with tension, with tension of more than one kind.

At Kawalsky’s comment, Sam chuckled and turned her attention to him, although he noticed Jack’s eyes were still fixated on the young woman. “ You don’t have to worry, Major,” she addressed him. “ I played with dolls when I was a kid.”

“ GI Joe?” Kawalsky asked, taking a liking to her confidence and spark.

“ No,” Sam answered without skipping a beat. “ Major Matt Mason.”

“ Oh.” The retort took him by surprise – especially as he’d never heard the name before and was wondering if she was pulling his leg. He noticed she was looking at him, as if waiting for him to say something more so he turned to Ferretti, who was the only one in the room without a blank expression – the only one except Jack, who was still watching Sam intensely. “ Who?”

“ Major Matt Mason, astronaut doll,” Ferretti grinned, looking to Sam. “ Did you have that cool little backpack that made him fly?”

Sam smiled, ducking her head slightly, knowing her sudden appearance had surprised her new all-male colleagues. General Hammond watched the scene with some amusement, noting mentally that Jack hadn’t spoken for a while, something he gathered was unusual for the usually up-front Colonel. The General’s mood turned sombre when he was reminded of the mission at hand by the small voice of reason within him. “ Let’s get started. Colonel?”

Jack blinked once, shaken from his reverie but not before Kawalsky noticed the guilty flush that crept up his cheeks. “ Thank you.” Jack waited until Sam had taken her seat before continuing. “ Those of you on your first trip through the Stargate, you should be prepared for what to expect.”

Sam’s gaze snapped up to his face, his eyes narrowing slightly as she inwardly groaned. “ I’ve practically memorised your report from the first mission,” she retorted calmly but with an unmistakably cool edge. “ I’d like to think I’ve been preparing for this all my life.”

“ I think what the Colonel is saying is..” Kawalsky cut in, trying to defuse some of the still-present tension in the room. “ Have you ever pulled out of a simulated bombing run in an F-16 at 8-plus G’s?”

“ Yes.” Sam answered instantly, her tone matter-of-factly.

“ Well,” Kawalsky hesitated, taken aback at her reply and the bluntness of it. “ It’s way worse than that,” he recovered quickly.

Ferretti chose this moment to chime in. “ By the time you get to the other side, you’re frozen stiff, like you’ve just been through a blizzard. Naked.”

Again, failing to fall behind as they half expected, Sam responded evenly. “ That’s a result of the compression your molecules undergo during the millisecond required for reconstitution.”

“ Oh, here we go, another scientist. General, please.” Whilst everyone else did a double take at this new side of Sam, Jack got into the game. But even this failed to throw her off track.

“ Theoretical astrophysicist.” She corrected, fighting the urge to give her new CO the sickly sweet smile she usually reserved for the arrogant and sexist officers she came up against in the Air Force.

“ Which means.. ?” Jack stared at her, a blank expression arranging his handsome features.

She was saved from answering but General Hammond himself. “ It means she’s way smarter than you are, Colonel. Especially in matters related to the Stargate.”

At the General’s comment, Kawalsky and Ferretti began to chuckle, obviously amused that he was getting in on the act. Sam bit back a smug smile, feeling a small wave of sympathy wash over her for the Colonel, who threw a glare in the direction of his so-called friends. At his glare, Kawalsky and Ferretti tried to look serious but their eyes still shone with mirth.

“ Colonel,” Sam spoke up, drawing his attention away from his friends and back to her. “ I was studying the Gate technology for two years before Doctor Jackson made it work and before you both went through. I should have gone through then.” A note of bitterness crept into her voice but she did all she could to control it. “ But, sir, you and your *men* might as well accept the fact that I am going through this time.”

Jack noticed the emphasis she put on the word ‘men’ and heard the dangerous edge beneath her words. He was instantly curious, wondering what kind of prejudice she’d come up against but that was another story – hopefully for another time. “ Well, with all due respect, Doctor --”

“ It is appropriate to refer to a person by their rank, not their salutation. Call me ‘Captain,’ not ‘Doctor’.” She cut him off with an insincere smile although he could have sworn he saw a mischievous, challenging glint in the depths of her eyes.

“ Captain Carter’s assignment to this unit is not an option, it’s an order.” General Hammond chimed in, even though he was almost certain neither Jack nor Sam were paying much attention to anyone other than each other.

“ I’m an Air Force officer just like you are, Colonel,” Sam continued, her gaze locked with Jack’s. “ And just because my reproductive organs are on the inside instead of the outside, doesn’t mean I can’t handle whatever you can handle.”

Fighting the urge to either roll his eyes or just stare at her in amazement of her audacity to call him on his apparent sexist behaviour in front of their superior, Jack sat down in his chair, his knees feeling surprisingly weak. “ Oh, this has got nothing to do with you being a woman. I like women. I’ve just got a little problem with scientists.”

“ Colonel, I logged over 100 hours in enemy airspace during the Gulf War. Is that tough enough for you?” She quirked an eyebrow. “ Or are we going to have to arm wrestle?”

If she had been able to look away from him, she would have seen the impressed expressions on the faces of the other officers – Kawalsky and Ferretti in particular. But she missed them because her eyes were locked on Colonel O’Neill. He seemed to be considering her offer of an arm-wrestle and in actual fact, he was considering what her reaction would be if he did take her up on it.

Eventually, after a pause that lasted a lot longer than a few seconds to both Sam and Jack, he shrugged casually. It was enough for her to know the issue had been dropped – for now, anyway.

“ I hate to throw a damper on your enthusiasm..” Major Samuels started talking and the moment was effectively ruined. Kawalsky half-paid attention to what was being said, instead concentrating on the sly looks his friend and the new Captain were sneaking at each other when they thought no one was watching.

He wasn’t sure what it was, but he could see there was something already there between them. Kawalsky knew everyone else saw it and had his suspicions that both Jack and Sam were on some level aware of it. Grinning inwardly, he made a mental pact with himself to do something about it. It had been difficult to watch Jack suffer silently in his unhappy marriage, not knowing how to help him out. But now Kawalsky had an idea, and a plan was starting to form..

*~*

An hour or so later, General Hammond and Major Samuels led the way into the Gateroom. Kawalsky, Jack and Sam followed, suited up in full military gear. Behind them, was the rest of their team, three more soldiers. They all came to a stop just inside the room, all of them turning their attention to the already established wormhole.

“ Try to follow orders this time, Colonel.” General Hammond turned to face them, addressing their CO. Jack gave his CO a mock-innocent look but Sam didn’t notice.

She didn’t even notice there was a conversation taking place, her attention was fixed firmly on the event horizon. She’d read about it, studied the technology and the theory but this was the first time she’d seen it in person. And it was certainly more breathtaking than she had dared to even imagine.

Automatically, without giving it any thought, Sam moved when the rest of the team moved on Jack’s order. She lingered behind at the bottom of the ramp, sensing Jack’s presence beside her, feeling the warmth of his skin even though a few inches of space and the material of their combat shirts came between them. Together, they watched Kawalsky and the others disappear though the event horizon.

Jack gazed at her, feeling an unfamiliar warmth bubble up inside him as he did so. The look of wonder on her face, so innocent, he didn’t think her blue eyes could get any wider. She radiated excitement and nerves, and he couldn’t help but remember the fierce passion she had revealed hints of during their first meeting and hoped he’d get to see that side of her again.

It made him uncomfortable to realise that he was noticing.. things about her as a woman that he, as a married man and as her commanding officer, shouldn’t be noticing. She was an attractive woman, very attractive and very beautiful. Full, soft lips and big, deep blue eyes.. Her eyes, Jack noted, were very expressive and already he felt as though he could drown in them.

<Sara,> he told himself sourly in an attempt to stop his thoughts from taking the direction he knew they were heading in. <Think of Sara.. > Nope, that didn’t help. The image he held in his mind’s eye of his wife faded into one of Samantha Carter, who was – in his mind anyway – smiling sweetly at him, tempting him.. <Charlie, Jack,> the voice at the back of his head shouted. <Think of your son.> A guilty flush stole across his cheeks and he glanced quickly at Sam.

“ Captain?” He bit back a smile at the faraway, wonder-filled expression. The General’s bomb could go off and she wouldn’t notice.

“ Don’t worry, Colonel,” Sam responded softly and slowly. “ I won’t let you down.”

“ Good.” He quickly masked his surprise, that wasn’t what he had been planning to say but it was nice to know. “ I was gonna say “Ladies first”.”

Leaving that to sink in, Jack headed up the ramp, knowing instinctively that she wouldn’t be far behind.

“ You know, you really will like me when you get to know me.” Sam caught up with him and matched his pace, stride for stride.

“ Oh, I adore you already, Captain.” The words were out of his mouth before he’d even thought about them but the more he thought about it, the more he actually believed it was true. Thankfully, however, she seemed to either take his words as being sarcastic or missed them completely, preoccupied by having reached the wormhole.

Her breath caught in her throat as anticipation bubbled up inside of her. This was it, this was really it. She was about to step through the Stargate, into a wormhole! “ My God.. look at this. The energy the Gate must release to create a stable wormhole is-is astronomical, to use exactly the right word.” She was talking to herself, for the most part, and Jack couldn’t help but be amused by her enthusiasm and delighted awe. It was all he could do not to laugh out loud when Sam reached out and hesitantly touched it, the surface rippling like water beneath her gentle touch. “ You can actually see the fluctuations in the event horizon.”

As much as he would have loved to spend more time watching the emotions play across her face, he remembered where they were. His team was on the other side, the General was watching them.. So Jack did what he knew was the only thing that would get her through the Gate without surprising the watching General. He gave her a firm but relatively gentle shove, pushing her into the event horizon before following her through, wiping a grin from his face as he did so.

~*~

After the mission, his respect for her had grown but he still couldn’t keep the grin off his face as he explained what had happened to Kawalsky and Doctor Daniel Jackson. Once he’d told them, Jack began to wish he hadn’t. Kawalsky gave Daniel details on what had taken place in the briefing room when they were first ‘introduced’ and Daniel had decided Kawalsky was right about Sam being a good match for Jack – one that would make him happier than his current situation being ‘stuck’ in a miserable marriage.

The SGC had, by this point, been officially opened as one of the military’s classified projects. Jack was given the position of leading SG-1, with Sam as his second-in-command and Daniel Jackson as their civilian advisor. The fourth member of their team was a Jaffa named Teal’c, who had saved their lives on their first mission through the Stargate to reach Daniel. Kawalsky had been given command of SG-2, and it was when a member of his team was revealed to be possessed by a Goa'uld – the race of alien they had come up against – that the two men decided to push the obvious attraction of their colleagues.

Lieutenant Casey was the unfortunate SG-2 member to become infected. It had occurred whilst they were on Chulak, in the middle of a fight with the Goa’uld so no one had noticed until they had got home.

Whilst under the influence, Casey killed a base doctor and took Sam hostage, attacking her when she tried to escape. This was the event that made Kawalsky and Daniel even more determined to get their friends together, in spite of Jack’s marital status.

They had all become fond of Sam, she was a likeable person. Smart, beautiful and down-to-earth, she was quickly accepted and absorbed into the fold despite her gender. Kawalsky respected her as an officer and began to see her as a little sister as well as a good friend. When another of his team mates had been killed during the first Goa’uld attack on them when they were on Abydos, Sam was the one who came up to him and asked if he was okay. Daniel liked her instantly, and she quickly became a good friend, someone he could talk to about his taken wife, Sha're. She was the sister he had always wanted and already, he cared deeply for her.

Despite this, it was Jack who appeared to be the most affected by her being taken. He was the only one who had put some distance between himself and Sam, seeing her as an officer first and a friend later. Yet, he was the one who’d gone after Casey. When the elevator doors opened and Casey, confused with no recollection of what had happened, had told them that Sam was hurt real bad, Jack was the first one to reach her side. Both Kawalsky and Daniel had seen the panic in his eyes as he carefully lifted the unconscious Captain and carried her to the infirmary.

Throughout her being checked over by Doctor Janet Fraiser, Jack refused to leave her side. He didn’t realise he was acting like someone who cared more deeply about her than he let on until his friends had called him on it later. At the time, all that mattered was that she woke up and he could look into her eyes again, to challenge her on something or another.

The change was subtle, but there. It was noticed by everyone who knew Jack and they all knew the reason behind it, even if he himself didn’t. Very few minded, they were all glad to have their friend’s mood improve 100 %. Even Jack’s son knew why his father’s attitude to life had improved, it had something to do with his new team mate, Sam. When Charlie eventually met Sam for himself, he soon became as enchanted as his father, much to his mother’s disdain. Sara was the only one who wasn’t happy about the improvement, because she saw Sam as the threat she was, even if Sam didn’t know it herself yet.

~*~

Charlie’s first meeting with Sam was carefully orchestrated. Kawalsky and Daniel teamed up with Janet and even Teal’c helped out. The reason they used for planing the group outing was that Teal’c needed to start adjusting to his life on Earth if he was going to fit in, which meant he needed to understand more about the Earth culture he’d so far only heard about. They had already convinced General Hammond that Daniel’s idea of them going out on a picnic was a good one but now they were working on Jack and had the additional problem of getting Kawalsky’s suggestion approved – that Charlie O’Neill should join them.

“ Come on, Jack. It’ll be fun,” Daniel coaxed, looking to Kawalsky for some support. “ It’s a great reason for us all to go out.”

“ And Teal’c hasn’t met Charlie yet,” Kawalsky chimed in, silently adding that neither had Sam. “ It’d be an educational experience for Teal’c to witness father-son bonding on Earth, won’t it, Teal’c?”

The Jaffa, usually so stoic and serious, nodded solemnly. “ I concur, Kawalsky. It would be beneficial to my understanding of your culture if we were to partake in a..”

“ Picnic, Teal’c,” Daniel supplied him with the right word. “ It’s called a picnic.”

The three men, four including Jack, were in his office on base. They had converged there after a meeting with Janet provided some useful information – Sam was curious about Jack’s family, having heard so much from everyone else but so little from Jack himself. They had been trying to convince Jack, having already gained the General’s permission to take Teal’c off base for the day. So far, they hadn’t been successful.

“ Taking Teal’c out is one thing,” Jack protested. “ But having Charlie go, too? I don’t know, there’s only so much Charlie can know about my work and there’s only so much that I want him to know.”

Kawalsky bit back a sigh. It was times like this he could curse his friend’s stubbornness. “ He’ll have the time of his life, Jack. Not only will he have his Dad’s attention all day, he’ll have all of us fussing over him.”

“ Plus Dr. Fraiser and Sam,” Daniel interjected, carefully studying Jack for his reaction to that piece of news.

He arched an eyebrow, looking from Kawalsky to Daniel to Teal’c and back again.

“ Carter and Dr. Fraiser? You managed to rope them in on this?”

“ Actually,” Daniel looked to Kawalsky for approval. The other man nodded and the young archaeologist continued, pushing his dark blond hair from his eyes. “ Dr. Fraiser suggested we all get together off duty. She thinks Sam’s been working too hard on some computer-thing. Or something.”

“ And Sam? She agreed to this?” Jack’s use of her first name slipped no one’s attention but his own.

Kawalsky smothered a grin. “ Oh, yeah. She was a little reluctant at first, but we convinced her it was a good idea. We have to work together.. Well, you guys do. I guess I’m just.. tagging along but still.. She’d love to meet Charlie, too.”

“ She would?” Jack looked up, surprised his 2IC knew about Charlie but also something else – worried? – that it meant she probably knew something about Sara.

“ How much does Carter know about Charlie?”

“ The same amount Charlie knows about Sam,” Daniel spoke up. “ Only what Charlie knows about Sam came from you and what Sam knows about Charlie came from everyone but you.”

Jack’s eyes narrowed suspiciously. “ Just what is that supposed to mean?”

“ It means, Jack,” Kawalsky rolled his eyes. “ That you speak about Sam all the time when you’re with Charlie, even if Sara is there. But here, you rarely talk about anything of your life outside the SGC. Sam’s noticed. It’s like you’re putting up a wall, she’s your friend to some extent but you don’t trust her enough to let her be a proper friend. What she knows about Charlie has come from us. She knows how close you are to him and was curious when you never mentioned him to her.”

“ So she asked?” Jack blinked slowly. “ And you guys told her.. What?”

“ She asked about Charlie, not Sara.” Daniel answered softly, somehow knowing what was on his friend’s mind. “ She knows you’re married but isn’t gonna pry. To be honest, I don’t think she wants to know the details of your marriage.”

There was an uncomfortable silence as Jack tried to deny why he was relieved and why it was so important that Sam didn’t learn more about his marriage from anyone but him. Then, as he looked at his friends, at the hopeful laced with guilt expressions Kawalsky and Daniel wore helped the last piece of the puzzle click into place and he saw the picnic idea for what it was. “ When are you guys gonna give up on the match-making thing? It’s not gonna work.” They remained silent, looking more hopeful than guilty now. Jack threw his hands up in frustration. “ I’m married! And even if I wasn’t, what would Sam see in me anyway?” He shot them a look when they opened their mouths to say something. “ Don’t answer that.”

There was another silence, only this time if was a thoughtful one. Teal’c eventually broke the silence, being the first one to speak. “ Do we have your approval, O’Neill?”

Jack looked at him for one long moment, then sighed in defeat. “ Alright, alright. We’ll do it. This Saturday, Sara’s going to stay with her father for the weekend so Charlie can come.”

The two main conspirators high-fived each other as Teal’c looked on. Kawalsky turned to Jack and grinned triumphantly as Daniel tried to explain the concept of high-fiving to his confused alien friend.

~*~

Part Two.

~*~

The sun shone brightly in Colorado when the weekend came around. The gang – SG-1 plus Janet, Charlie and Kawalsky – had arranged to meet at the park at ten. A late change to their plans occurred on Friday night when it was agreed that Sam could bring her nephew and niece, who had been left rather abruptly with her that afternoon. Janet was going to pick them up in her car as Sam’s was in the garage, Kawalsky was getting a ride with Jack and Charlie whilst Daniel and Teal’c would be arriving in another car.

Excited squeals and shrieks greeted the pretty doctor the moment she knocked on the apartment door: “I’ll get it! I’ll get it!” The door swung open to reveal a grinning young boy of about eight years old and a shy-looking girl of about four. The boy had dark hair and green eyes but the girl resembled Sam, with her bright blue eyes and blond hair that was a mass of bouncing curls.

“ Hi,” the little boy spoke first. “ I’m Luke, who are you?”

Janet smiled and bent at the knees so she was on the same eye-level as him. “ Hi, I’m Janet. It’s nice to meet you.” She turned her attention to the little girl who was appraising her curiously, sucking her thumb nervously. “ Hi there, what’s your name?”

The little girl didn’t answer directly. She just giggled and pottered away into the other room, followed closely by her big brother. Still smiling, Janet straightened and stepped further into the apartment, shutting the door behind her. “ Sam? Are you ready to go?”

“ Almost!” Came the muffled reply as Janet walked into the living room, stopping in surprise at seeing her friend’s usually spotless room in such a state of chaos. She looked around for Sam but the other woman was no where in sight. “ I’ll be out in a minute! Make yourself at home!”

Rolling her eyes, Janet sat down on the only section of Sam’s couch not covered in children’s books, toys and clothes and waited patiently. By this time, Luke had turned his attention back to the television and his little sister was no where to be seen. Janet heard childish giggling come from the only room with the door ajar – Sam’s bedroom – and decided there was no cause for concern.

Several moments later, Sam appeared in an outfit similar to Janet’s own – a casual summer dress with a light-weight shirt over it instead of a cardigan like Janet – with the same girl Janet had met earlier in her arms. “ Sorry. We’re running a little late this morning. Luke decided it would be fun if he hid my alarm clock this morning and then Abby here decided to share her bath-time with me.” Sam looked apologetic – not to mention flustered. “ This is Abigail, by the way. Abby, this is Janet. And that’s Luke, but you’ve probably already met him.”

“ Yeah, but I think he got bored with me,” Janet joked with a smile, her brown eyes sparkling. Looking at her friend holding Abigail, she realised they looked a lot more alike that she had first thought. In fact, they looked more like mother and daughter than aunt and niece – especially with the way Abigail had her small arms wrapped around Sam’s neck. “ It’s nice to meet you, Abigail.”

In response, Abigail giggled and buried her face into the crook of Sam’s neck. “ She’s decided to be shy for the morning,” Sam explained. “ By this afternoon, she’ll be your best friend, I’m sure. Now,” she glanced around her living room and cringed at the mess. “ We should really get going before I decide to stay and tidy up. Come on, Luke. Time to go.”

Without so much as a grumble, Luke turned off the television and stood, picking up a bag of things belonging to him and his sister before walking to the front door. Janet looked impressed, amazed at such a well behaved eight-year-old but Sam just smiled, unfazed by her nephew’s behaviour. In less than five minutes, the four of them were settled in Janet’s car and started the short journey towards the park.

As Janet pulled up in the car park, Sam spotted Kawalsky waiting for them. He grinned and waved when he saw them, Janet’s soft sigh as she saw him not escaping Sam’s attention.

“ Hi,” he walked over to them and waited until they were all out of the car before continuing, noticing the two children with them who hovered by Sam. “ Jack and Charlie went ahead to set up the blankets, we’re still waiting for Daniel to show with Teal’c and the food.” Kawalsky looked down on Luke and the boy stared right back up at him. “ You like playing baseball, kid?”

Luke nodded, glancing up at his Aunt Sam as if asking for her permission to speak. “ I play baseball at home.”

“ Well, I think your Aunt’s friend Jack and his son are practising right now. You wanna go and join ’em?” Kawalsky grinned winningly and held out his hand. Shyly, Luke took it and smiled up at him. “ We might as well go ahead and get comfy. Danny and Teal’c will find us when they get here.”

“ Lead the way,” Janet smiled. Sam nodded and lifted Abigail up into her arms when the young girl tugged persistently on her hand.

“ I’m Luke.” Luke spoke up suddenly as they started walking, grinning up at Kawalsky.

“ It’s nice to meet you, Luke.” Kawalsky grinned back. “ You can call me Kawalsky like everyone else or Uncle Charlie, like Jack’s son.”

“ Kawalsky? Is that your name?” Luke frowned a little as he tried to pronounce it, confused. “ It’s a funny name.”

“ It’s my surname,” Kawalsky explained. “ My first name is Charles but that gets too confusing with Jack’s son being called Charlie.”

Luke nodded, acting as though he understood when it was quite obvious to the adults that he didn’t. Kawalsky flashed Sam and Janet another grin over Luke’s head, his eyes falling on the young girl Sam was still holding. “ Am I allowed to know your name or is it classified?”

Abigail giggled and Janet smiled to herself at the soft tone of Kawalsky’s voice he used when addressing the children. It was Luke who answered. “ That’s Abby, my baby sister. She’s shy,” he told Kawalsky with a hint of exasperation, laced with brotherly pride.

Any further conversation was stopped by their arrival at the picnic site. Sam gently set Abigail down and sat next to her, her niece immediately snuggling up against her. Janet took her place next to her friend and the two started a girls-only conversation, leaving it to Kawalsky to introduce Luke to Jack and Charlie.

“ Hey, guys!” Kawalsky called out as he led Luke across the grass to where they were practising catching. “ Sam and Janet are here,” he continued when he was within earshot of Jack. Jack straightened and motioned for his son to join them.

Charlie trotted over to them, his brownish-blond hair falling across his forehead as he did so. He looked at his Uncle Charlie and the newcomer with his father’s eyes, giving them a curious grin that was 100% O’Neill. “ Hi!” He greeted them enthusiastically, turning to Luke. “ I’m Charlie.”

“ I’m Luke,” Luke responded with a shy smile. Jack and Kawalsky remained silent, with Kawalsky watching Jack as Jack looked past him to where the others sat on the blankets.

“ You wanna go play on the swings?” Charlie asked, tilting his head to one side innocently.

“ Yeah!” Luke nodded enthusiastically then paused suddenly, remembering something. “I gotta ask Aunt Sam, though.”

“ Aunt Sam?” Charlie repeated, his eyes bright as he looked knowingly up at his father. “ Your friend Sam, Dad?” Jack nodded in the affirmative, his throat suddenly dry as he wondered why he was all at once overcome with nerves.

Kawalsky watched his friend with interest before addressing the two boys. “ I’m sure it’ll be okay but we’ll go and ask. I told you you’d be meeting a few of your Dad’s friends from work, Charlie. Sam’s one of them.” He flashed Charlie a conspiratorial grin, giving Jack the impression that he was being left out of something. “ Sam’s with Janet, another friend of ours, and Luke’s sister where you set the blankets up.”

They needed no further encouragement. The boys raced off in the direction of the blankets, with Charlie anxious to meet the woman he’d heard so much about, the infamous Sam.

~*~

By the time Jack and Kawalsky reached them, Charlie and Luke were sitting with the women, playing with Abigail, who had decided being shy was no fun.

“ Hi, Sir.” Janet looked up, smiling brightly when she saw the two men approaching. She nudged Sam none-too-gently-nor-subtly in the ribs, earning a slightly embarrassed glare from her friend.

“ Hey, Janet,” Jack grinned a welcome. “ Drop the ‘Sirs’, okay? We’re off-duty. Same goes for you, too, Sam.”

“ Yes, Sir.” Sam quipped with a teasing salute. Jack gave her a mock-glare and sat down, missing the smile that Charlie was struggling to hide. “ Sorry.. Jack.” Abigail crawled over to her and climbed on her lap, giggling at Luke and Charlie as they made faces at her.

“ Janet, Sam, you’ve met Charlie now, I guess,” Kawalsky spoke up, sharing a look with Janet as Sam and Jack continued gazing at each other - and each other only.

“ Charlie, these lovely ladies are Captain Samantha Carter and Doctor Janet Fraiser. Confusingly, Sam’s also a doctor and Janet’s also a Captain – both soon to be Major, no doubt.” Again, Kawalsky and Janet exchanged a look, only this time Janet was blushing. “ And the bundle of giggles Sam is holding is Abigail, Luke’s sister. Abigail, these strange people are Jack and Charlie O’Neill.”

“ Hi,” Abigail giggled, snuggling up against Sam as she did. Sam smiled softly and tightened her arms around her niece.

“ Aunt Sam, can we go play on the swings? Just for a little bit?” Luke gave his Aunt a winning smile – one that reminded her so much of her brother.

Rolling her eyes, Sam smiled and nodded her consent. “ As long as someone keeps an eye on you, I don’t mind.”

Luke pouted. “ I’m eight years old!”

“ That’s my point,” she retorted evenly. “ You’re eight and have your father’s knack of finding trouble no matter how impossible it seems.”

“ Wow,” Kawalsky grinned. “ Could have been talking about Jack and Charlie! Like father, like son .. Oof!” Jack threw the baseball at his friend, hitting him squarely in the stomach. “ Hey!”

The children giggled, Charlie rolling his eyes as he did so and Sam shared an amused look with Janet. The two of them – Sam and Janet – laughed when Jack retaliated to his son’s inherited sarcasm by tickling him. It was a side to their Colonel they weren’t used to, but one that was entirely loveable, particularly from Sam’s point of view.

“ So, swings, anyone?” Kawalsky interrupted the father-son moment with a chuckle. Charlie looked to his father for permission.

“ Go ahead,” Jack gave his son a nod of consent. “ I’ll catch up once my age has done catching up with me.” He grinned winningly at the ladies. “ I know where the term ‘old man’ comes from now.” He was rewarded by a sweet smile from Sam – exactly what he’d been aiming for.

“ I’ll come with you,” Janet volunteered as the boys raced off towards the playground and Kawalsky moved to join them. “ I’m sure Luke didn’t earn his nickname of ‘Mischief’ by being easy to keep an eye on.”

“ Oh, believe me. He earned it,” Sam chuckled. “ He’s worse than Daniel when it comes to bumps and bruises.”

“ Worse than Daniel?” Jack raised an eyebrow in a wryly expression. “ Is that possible?”

Janet bit back a smile at the way her two friends were gazing at each other and decided to put the plan behind the picnic in motion. “ Hey, Abby. You wanna come with us? There’s a slide and a sandbox.. ”

“ Yay!” Abigail wiggled out of Sam’s embrace before turning to give her a thoughtful look. The little girl stood inches away from her Aunt with her hands on her hips in a comical pose. “ Kiss,” she demanded. Sam complied with a smile and Abigail gave her a sloppy kiss. She then allowed Kawalsky to lift her and the three left Sam and Jack alone.

“ Be good!” Sam called after them, her mothering acknowledged by a wave from Janet. She turned in time to see the amused smile playing on her commanding officers lips. “ What?” She narrowed her eyes suspiciously when his smile widened. “ What is it?”

“ Nothing,” Jack chuckled. “ Nothing.. I just never thought it was that easy.”

“ What was?” She looked confused, but as he thought she looked adorable when she was confused, – which was a rare occasion – it only served to increase his amusement of the situation.

His expression turned sly. “ Getting a kiss. From you.” His grin widened again at her blush, it was a rare sight – his second-in-command blushing. “ Never knew it was that easy.”

She smiled sweetly and he noticed the mischievous gleam in the depth of her eyes.

“ It’s that easy for a sweet little girl but not necessarily for an old man.”

He pouted. “ Are you calling me old, Captain?”

“ Of course not, Sir. You said it yourself that you were getting old, I’m just reminding you.” She laughed warmly. “ You should be concerned if your memory’s going, which I think is the case considering you also said we were dropping ranks today, Colonel.”

“ Touché, Cap.. Sam,” he corrected with a smile. They lapsed into a friendly silence, both completely at ease with one another despite the obvious scheming of their friends to get them to this point.

After a few moments, Sam shifted to lie on her back, supporting her head with her hands as she gazed up at the sky. She smiled to herself as she imagined seeing all sorts of different shapes and objects in the clouds that passed over head. Jack watched her, a look of unmistakable tenderness on his face as he shifted, stretching his legs out so he was more comfortable.

It was another ten minutes before either of them broke the silence. “ Your son looks like you.” She spoke without taking her eyes from the sky.

“ Is that a good thing or should I start apologising to him now?” He responded lazily, his eyes still on her face, memorising every feature.

A small smile graced her lips. “ It’s a good thing,” she assured him. “ He adores you, you know. It’s so obvious in the way he looks at you.” She sounded wistful.

“ Abigail and Luke seem to adore you,” he pointed out. “ Abigail especially, she even looks like I imagine you did at her age.”

“ I guess.” She sighed softly. “ It’s not the same, though. I’m just their Aunt.” Taking him by surprise, she turned on her side, propping herself up on her elbow and facing him, almost catching him staring at her. Jack saw the innocence in her eyes, the curiosity and the longing and wondered what she was thinking. As always with Sam, he wasn’t left wondering for long. “ What’s it like? Being a parent?”

He regarded her carefully before answering. “ Aren’t you finding out this weekend? Looking after your nephew and niece?”

“ Not really.” She gave him a self-depreciating smile. “ Luke and Abby, they’re always so sweet and well behaved when I’m around. They can’t be like that all the time, though, can they? I mean, there has to be times when they’re not a dream to be around?”

“ I don’t know, depends a lot on the kid,” he shrugged. “ Sure, they’ll have their tantrums -- God knows Charlie does. Times when you wonder where your little angel’s gone. But the good times usually out-weigh the bad.” He grinned. “ At least at this age. The teenage years are something I’m not looking forward to.” He gave her a cheeky, sidelong look. “ You getting broody?”

“ Maybe a little.” She blushed prettily. There was a pause as she gathered her thoughts together and sought the courage to ask what was on her mind. “ Sir? Can I ask you something?”

“ It’s Jack, and yes, you can.” He kept his eyes on her face, even though she had averted her gaze to where her fingers were tracing the patterns on the blanket.

She chewed her bottom lip, then took a deep breath and ploughed on. “ Why do you never talk about Charlie to me? I knew you had a son but that and everything else I know came from other people.” She went back to biting her lip nervously. “ It bothered me, kind of hurt, so I asked Kawalsky and Daniel.”

“ I’m sorry, Sam.” Jack’s tone was one of sincere remorse and her eyes met his when he reached out to touch her shoulder. “ I never meant to hurt you. I just.. It’s complicated,” he sighed heavily and there was another pause whilst he collected his thoughts. “ If it means anything to you, I’m really glad you got to meet Charlie today. So is he, he’s heard about you. Quite a lot, actually.”

“ That’s sweet,” she smiled. “ Even though I haven’t had the chance to really get to know Charlie yet. Should be fun, though.”

“ It should,” he agreed smiling, his hand having moved to Sam’s own, stilling her fingers as they entwined with his own. “ There’s so much I want to tell you, things I need you to understand. Things you can only hear from me.”

“ Is your wife one of those things?” Sam asked a little shyly.

“ Yeah.” He looked grim. “ Not a topic I talk about often but one you need to know about. Especially as you’re probably wondering why Kawalsky’s determined to set us up when I’m married.”

“ The thought did cross my mind,” she admitted with a smile. “ I just assumed someone would eventually fill me in.”

“ Hey guys!” The familiar voice made them both smile. Daniel always sounded excited about something. “ Oh.” Daniel stopped so suddenly Teal’c, in a cowboy’s hat to cover the tattoo on his forehead, almost walked up the back of him. Daniel looked between his two team mates who were lounging casually - and closely – on the blankets. “ Are we.. em.. interrupting?”

To his surprise, Sam and Jack looked to each other and laughed, reluctantly pulling their hands away. “ No, Daniel.” Sam shook her head. “ Despite what you and the other cupid-wannabes might think or want to believe, you’re not interrupting anything. We were just talking, weren’t we, Jack?”

“ Ah, good. I’d hate to think that.. Jack? Did you just call him Jack?” Daniel blinked and started at the two of them thoughtfully. Teal’c watched the exchange with no comment and set down the picnic basket he was carrying – one of the two they had brought.

“ Yes, she did,” Jack rolled his eyes. “ We decided to drop the ranks today, Daniel. I’m Jack, Carter’s Sam, Dr. Fraiser is Janet and Kawalsky.. Well, he’s still Kawalsky.”

“ Speaking of Janet and Kawalsky,” Daniel said slowly, making sure he dropped the ranks and titles. “ Where are they?”

“ They’re with the kids at the playground,” Sam answered. “ So I hope you brought plenty of food because Luke and Abby can give anyone an appetite and that’s not counting Charlie.”

“ Luke and Abigail?” Daniel’s brow furrowed.

“ I believe they are Captain Carter’s relations, Daniel-Jackson.” Teal’c supplied in his flat yet serious manner. “ Did you not say they would be joining us?”

Daniel nodded as he remembered and he grinned. “ You’re right, Teal’c, I did.” There was a short pause. “ So.. Should we wait till the kids get bored or should we let them know we’re here?”

“ Let them play a bit longer,” Sam suggested. “ It’ll be easier to get food into Abby if she’s tired.”

Jack nodded his agreement and Daniel and Teal’c sat down. Sam moved so she was sitting up and the four team mates began a conversation about their latest mission.

“ I still can’t believe I was traded for a gun!” Sam was complaining half an hour later when Kawalsky and Janet joined them with the children. “ Talk about a cheap date.”

“ Does wonders for your reputation, I’ll bet!” Daniel teased wickedly. “ But it’s a shame you didn’t get to keep the Shavadai dress.”

Janet chose this moment to join the conversation as she sat down by Sam, the two women exchanging sly looks. “ She did get to keep it, Daniel. I’ve seen it.”

“ You did?” Daniel, Jack and Kawalsky spoke at the same time, staring at Sam with wide eyes. “ Why didn’t you say something?” Daniel demanded with a frown. Jack shot the younger man a look that was half-disapproving and half-warning and he hurriedly continued. “ It’s.. um.. An interesting artifact.. Looked nice.. Not too nice.. I mean, you did look nice but I didn’t notice.. I noticed but not in that way.. In a professional way.. Not that I’m saying Jack did.. or didn’t..”

Unable to hold it back, Sam and Janet started laughing at the flustered archaeologist – and at Jack, who had the grace to look a little embarrassed at being caught out. As this was going on, Charlie exchanged grins with Kawalsky and Luke, having been briefed on the whole ‘match-making/set-up scheme’ and given it his backing. The three children then noticed the silent Teal’c and Abigail decided to investigate.

The little girl crawled over to the big man and climbed clumsily onto his knee. She reached up and traced the gold emblem on his forehead, giving him a pouting look when he failed to do or say anything.

“ Abby..” Sam noticed where her niece was sitting and bit her lip to keep from giggling again as Abigail tried her hardest to make Teal’c smile – doing everything from pushing his lips up with her chubby hands to making faces at him. “ Abby, quit pestering Teal’c.”

“ M’not,” Abigail protested stubbornly, jutting her chin out. “ He don’t mind.” To prove her point, Abigail snuggled up to Teal’c and looked adoringly up at him. “ I just want ’im to smile.”

“ Abby..” Sam’s voice took on a warning note as her niece continued to terrorise her friend.

“ It is okay, Captain Carter.” Teal’c spoke up suddenly, his voice startling Abigail who looked up at him in surprise. “ I find the behaviour of your niece to be most curious.”

“ Looks like she finds you interesting, too, Teal’c,” Jack grinned. “ And we’re dropping ranks. At the very least, call her Carter.”

“ Very well.” Teal’c nodded slightly.

“ Can we eat now?” Charlie spoke up, staring at the picnic baskets with eager and hungry eyes. “ Please?” Jack’s stomach grumbled as he, too, devoured the baskets with his eyes.

“ Like father, like son,” Janet whispered to Sam, making both women dissolve into giggles. Abigail wanted to know what was so funny so she crawled off Teal’c and made her way over to her Aunt. She climbed onto Sam’s knee, wrapped her arms around Sam’s neck and cuddled into her. “ You hungry, Abby?” The little girl nodded.

Not needing any further encouragement, Daniel passed one of the baskets to Kawalsky and began to unpack the other. In a short time, the food had been unpacked and everyone was digging in. Well, almost everyone – Sam was trying to get her niece to finish eating half of her sandwich whilst at the same time taking small bites of her own lunch – an apple.

“ I thought you were hungry,” Sam murmured with a sigh to Abigail when the little girl refused to eat any more.

“ She wants the cookies,” Luke piped up, reaching for the packet of chocolate chip cookies.

“ Well, you’ll both have to wait for the cookies,” Sam said, taking the packet out of Luke’s grasp and handing them to a grinning Janet. “ Until you’ve eaten at least half of your sandwich. Your father didn’t leave you here so you could live on junk food.” She smiled a little. “ Even if you’re going to have pizza for the second night in a row later.”

“ Pizza? Again?” Daniel echoed with raised eyebrows. “ I thought you were Miss Healthy-eater.”

“ I am, I just can’t cook to save my life,” Sam answered with a casual one-shoulder shrug. “ Which is why I want them eating as much healthy stuff as I can get in them now.” She gave her nephew a pointed look. “ You eat your sandwich or you get salad for dinner. It’s the one thing I can put together.”

“ Well.” Janet gave her an accusing stare. “ That certainly explains the results of your last physical.”

Jack looked up from the bag of potato chips he and his son were busy devouring, concern and curiosity clearly written on his face. “ Is this something we should all know about?”

“ No!” Sam narrowed her eyes and glared at her friend. “ We’re talking about their eating habits, not mine.”

“ They’re the right weight, you’re -- ” Janet was cut off by Sam elbowing her sharply in the ribs. “ Ouch! That was mean!” Abigail giggled and picked up her sandwich, munching away quite happily as she watched the grown-ups argue.

“ You deserved it,” Sam responded coolly.

“ I’m just concerned,” Janet responded soothingly. “ Now wasn’t the best time to bring it up, though.” She looked pleadingly at her friend. “ Forgive me? Please?”

“ Drop the subject and consider yourself forgiven,” Sam gave her a small smile and the moment passed.

The picnic continued but Sam couldn’t shake the feeling everyone was watching her. Inwardly, she cursed Janet for mentioning it – especially in front of her team mates and her nephew and niece, who would no doubt mention something to their father. So what if she’d lost a few pounds? Sam couldn’t remember ever worrying about whether she was too thin or too fat and she wasn’t about to start. As long as she was healthy and able to do her job, the job she loved, then it didn’t bother her.

With a sigh, Sam did her best to ignore them and finished her apple at the same time Abigail and Luke finished their sandwiches. She hid a smile when they both looked at her innocently and then longingly at the cookies. Unable to fight a smile, she reached for the packet and held it out to Luke.

“ Thank you!” He beamed and took a cookie before offering the packet around. Everyone but Sam and Janet took a cookie, even Teal’c decided to try one.

The Jaffa took a cautious bite and chewed hesitantly. An eyebrow raised slightly and he cocked his head to one side, contemplating the biscuit in his hand. Deciding he liked it, Teal’c took another bite and the rest of them shared triumphant smiles.

“ Grandma liked cookies, didn’t she?” Luke’s young, slightly quivering voice cut through the friendly silence and Sam looked to see her nephew’s eyes were filling up as he stared blindly at the cookie.

Biting her lip, Sam reached out and lay a reassuring hand on his shoulder. “ She did, chocolate chip were her favourite.” It was the first time she had ever heard one of her brother’s children mention their grandmother, a wonderful woman who had died when Sam herself was a child.

“ Oh.” Luke nodded and bit into his cookie. He then looked quizzically at her. “ Do you still miss her?”

“ Very much,” Sam forced a weak smile. “ But we can talk about this later, okay? I’ve got lots of pictures you can look at, if you want.”

“ Okay.” Luke brightened at the thought. “ Daddy won’t talk about her.”

“ He misses her a lot.” Sam started to explain but changed her mind before she said anything else. “ Now come here and give me a hug.”

Grinning, Luke bounded into her open arms. Janet, Kawalsky and Daniel looked away but Teal’c watched the display of affection with interest. Jack smiled, his smile growing when Abigail decided to get in on the act. He was watching them – watching Sam – a tender expression on his face, when he felt Charlie tug on his arm.

“ Daddy,” Charlie whispered, his smile reaching his eyes for the first time in a long time. “ I like Sam.”

Grinning, Jack pulled his son into his arms. “ I do, too. A lot.”

As Teal’c observed his two friends and saw what the others were talking about, he understood why they were so determined to set the two up. He also witnessed something the others didn’t, as they were looking away discreetly, continuing a private conversation of their own.

Over the heads of the children in their arms, Jack and Sam’s eyes met. They smiled at each other, their eyes showing all they felt. Feeling slightly uncomfortable at intruding on what was an intimate moment, Teal’c looked away. But not before seeing the raw emotions in their eyes, the longing, the desire, even the love …

It was then he decided that not only would he continue to side with Earth in their battle against the Goa’uld but he would join his other team mate and friends in their private mission. Getting Sam and Jack to acknowledge and act on what was so obvious to everyone else.

*~*

Part Three

*~*

Once the food was eaten, they made a unanimous decision that the afternoon would be spent keeping the children happy. If by doing that they wore the children out so they didn’t put up too much of an argument when it came to bedtime.. Well, that would be a welcome bonus.

Charlie and Luke voted for a game of baseball, a decision backed by Jack and Kawalsky. Daniel was more than a little reluctant but both he and Janet were talked into a game. Sam was determined not to join in, feeling the need to put some distance between herself and her friends so she could sort out her thoughts and Abigail was the perfect excuse. Even though the child would ordinarily have loved to join the game - or try to – she was tired and wanted instead to go back to the playground.

So it was settled. Sam would take Abigail to the playground, the others would play baseball. Teal’c had yet to make up his mind, he was curious about the practise of baseball but at the same time, he felt strangely protective of Captain Carter and didn’t want her to be on her own.

“ We’ll be fine, Teal’c,” Sam reassured him sincerely. “ You stay and learn how the game goes.”

“ As you wish, Samantha Carter.” Teal’c bowed slightly and she smiled at the use of her first name. It was an improvement on ‘Captain’ but she wondered how long it was going to last.

Still smiling, Sam led Abigail away from the others towards the playground. She forced the thoughts of her mother, her health and everything else out of her mind, concentrating instead on Abigail. They played in the sandbox, on the slide and on the swings before Abigail befriended some children her own age and didn’t need Sam for company. Sam left them playing with dolls in the sandbox, keeping a watchful eye on her nice from the bench not too far away. Her thoughts wandered and the time passed, her mind occupied greatly by a certain Colonel and his son.

~*~

On the other side of the park, the baseball game was certainly amusing. Jack was on a team with Charlie and Luke – and there was no question that they were winning. This was partly because they were all pretty good players but partly because the other team wasn’t concentrating on playing. Kawalsky was showing Janet the correct batting form and Daniel was fighting his allergies – as usual.

After an hour or so, the game was aborted. Kawalsky was teaching Janet how to bat, Daniel was explaining to Teal’c how the game should have gone and the boys were practising their throwing and catching with Jack.

It was another hour before Jack voiced what was on his mind. “ I wonder what Sam and Abby are getting up to. Thought they’d be back by now.”

“ We could go find them!” Charlie suggested enthusiastically.

Luke nodded his agreement. “ We could go play on the swings and the see-saw!”

“ Works for me.” Jack grinned and headed over to where the others were, missing the triumphant high-fives exchanged behind his back. “ Hey, Kawalsky, Danny. Charlie and Luke want to go to the playground so I’m gonna take them over there.”

Kawalsky, his mind on Janet and their batting lesson merely nodded in acknowledgement. Daniel gave Teal’c a knowing grin, to which the Jaffa responded with a slight smile, the corners of his mouth twitching upwards.

“ Say ‘hi’ to Sam for us!” Janet called out after Jack as he followed the boys in the direction of the playground. Jack turned slightly to glare at her before resuming his walking and Janet shared a smile with Kawalsky. Everything seemed to be going to plan.

~*~

From her place on the bench, Sam watched as her nephew approached, with Charlie slightly behind him. She tried – and failed – to fight a smile when she spotted Jack trailing after them.

“ Hi, Aunt Sam!” Luke called out as soon as he got within earshot. He waved enthusiastically and Sam waved back, smiling fondly.

Abigail looked up at the interruption but quickly got pulled back into playing dolls. Charlie and Luke found the climbing frames and started their own game - something to do with being pirates on a ship in the middle of a battle. Jack joined Sam on the bench, greeting her with a grin.

“ Hey,” Sam smiled back at him. “ How did the baseball game go?”

Jack rolled his eyes. “ It didn’t. Daniel was struck by his allergies and Kawalsky was demonstrating how to bat. Funny how Janet was his only pupil, though. Daniel could have used some pointers.” He flashed her another grin. “ But it’s safe to say we won. Luke and Charlie make a great team, they could both be star players some day.”

“ You really think so?” Sam gave him a sidelong glance. When he nodded, she sighed. “ Maybe you should talk to his father and tell him that.”

“ Hasn’t he seen Luke play?” He frowned slightly.

“ Not recently,” she sighed heavily again. “ Long story, it’s why the kids are with me this weekend. Mark – my brother – is trying to make his marriage work. Between that and his job, there’s no time for Luke or Abby.” She shook her head and forced a smile. “ But that’s their problem. As long as what’s best for the kids is what happens, I’m gonna stay out of it.”

“ You really love them, huh?” Jack smiled warmly.

“ As though they were my own,” Sam nodded, a genuine, soft smile lighting up her face. “ As much as you love Charlie, I imagine.”

“ Yep.” He nodded his agreement. There was a moment of silence as he thought about what he was going to say next. “ So if the best thing for the children was for your brother and his wife to get divorced.. You’d understand? And you could see that it was what was best for the kids?”

“ Absolutely,” she agreed without giving it second thoughts. “ If ending their marriage improves the living conditions of the kids, it’ll be for the best. The children should always be the main priority of their parents, shouldn’t they?”

“ I agree completely.” He gave her a winning grin, wondering how he had come to have the opportunity to meet her. “ And I don’t mean to seem nosy, if that’s what you’re thinking. I was just thinking of my own situation, that’s all.”

“ So you either have a brother considering divorce or we’re talking about you.” Sam smiled encouragingly, her concerned eyes belaying the neutral expression.

He gave her a reassuring smile of his own. “ We’re talking about me, yes. Don’t look so worried, or surprised. I told you there were things I wanted to explain..” There was a pause as he studied her hesitant expression. “ You wanna go for a walk? We can talk properly then. Charlie and Luke will keep an eye on Abby,” he coaxed, giving her a pleading ‘puppy-dog-eyes’ look. “ What do ya say?”

The protest she had formed died on her lips when he turned to her with that look – the pleading eyes and smile. Sighing to herself, she rolled her eyes. “ Fine. You win. But we can’t go too far, you have no idea how much trouble they can get into.”

“ Don’t be so sure.” Jack stood and held out a hand. He grinned when she took it and helped her to her feet. Even though she was standing beside him, he kept hold of her hand. “ Charlie had been known to get into some.. tricky situations.” They walked over to the climbing frame and he called up to his son. “ Hey, Charlie! Sam and I are going for a walk. You two keep an eye on Abby, okay? We’ll just be round by the lake if you need us and everyone else is where we left them.”

“ ’Kay, Dad!” Charlie shouted down from the top of the climbing frame, quickly becoming engrossed in playing ‘pirates’ once more.

Sam and Jack walked the short distance to the lake, still hand-in-hand. The air between them was relaxed but it still hummed with the ever-present and mutual attraction that existed between them. Trying to ignore it, Sam took a deep breath and spoke.

“ What kind of things has Charlie got up to?” She titled her head to one side.

“ You really want to know?” He looked vaguely surprised.

“ Yes, I do.” She laughed a little at his raised eyebrows. “ Why is it so surprising? I’m curious, Charlie’s a sweet kid but at the moment, I know next to nothing about him.” Her smile widened and her eyes sparkled mischievously. “ You’re not gonna have a heart attack, are you, Jack? You look like I’ve grown two heads.”

Shaking himself mentally, Jack grinned at her. “ Sorry, I’m just not used to anyone being as interested in Charlie as I am. Usually I get told to stop talking about him, not asked to.”

“ Well then, now’s your chance to talk to an avid audience,” she responded, giving his hand a light squeeze. “ Please? The serious stuff can wait, can’t it?”

He grinned and looked pleased with her response. He then tightened his hold on her hand as they continued walking. “ Okay, you asked for it.. There was this one time, Charlie was four and we were at my cousins wedding..”

Five stories later and Sam was laughing so hard she had tears in her eyes and running down her cheeks. She wiped them away and took a deep breath, only to start giggling again. “ I can’t believe it! He looks too innocent, you can’t be talking about the same kid.”

“ Oh, believe me, I am,” Jack reassured her. “ He may look as thought butter wouldn’t melt but he’s just good at hiding the fact he’s as big of a trouble-maker as..”

“ As his father,” she finished with a smile, managing to somehow control her giggles. “ Sounds like he’s a chip off the old block, Colonel.”

“ It’s Jack, and I’ll pretend I didn’t hear the ‘old’ part.” He rolled his eyes at her, trying not to notice how her eyes sparkled brightly as she listened attentively, hanging on every word. “ Aren’t you bored yet?”

“ Not really.” She smiled sincerely. “ I could listen for hours. Like you pretend to listen to my explanations of what a wormhole is.”

“ Not true! I do listen, don’t understand a word of it but I always listen,” he protested. “ I don’t get where the worm-bit comes into it. The hole, yeah. Worm, no.”

“ Maybe someday I’ll be able to spare an hour and we could sit down so I could explain it again,” Sam suggested. “ And maybe you can take notes next time.”

“ Then I’ll have no excuse to ask you again!” Jack pouted. “ And then what reason will I use when I want to talk to you?”

“ You don’t need an excuse to talk to me, Jack,” she smiled sweetly. “ You never have. Friends don’t need excuses and we’re friends, aren’t we?”

“ Most definitely,” he grinned boyishly.

“ ‘Most definitely’? A phrase you’ve picked up from Charlie, I presume?” She raised an eyebrow and looked out across the lake, taking in the true beauty of it. There was something on her mind, Jack could tell but he trusted her enough to tell him in her own time. For a few moments, they didn’t say anything, enjoying the peace and quiet, neither feeling the need to fill it with words. Then she chose to speak up, after summoning up enough courage. “ Jack?”

“ Yeah?” They carried on walking at a slow, leisurely pace and his gaze dropped to the floor as he somehow, instinctively, knew what she was going to say. Well, he tried to keep his gaze on the ground – on their feet – but his eyes kept straying to her bare and shapely legs.

“ Your wife.. She was strangely absent from those stories, and neither you nor Charlie have mentioned her..” She broke off and blushed deeply. “ Sorry, it’s none of my business.”

“ I told you, I want it to be your business,” he interrupted. “ And you’re right, I didn’t mention Sara. Because she was never involved, she’s never there.”

Her mouth moved but no words came out. She frowned and stopped walking, staring at him as she tried to understand. “ But she’s Charlie’s mother, she has to be there sometimes. You’re a family.”

“ I never though I’d see you at a loss for words, even if it doesn’t render you speechless.” Jack gave her a small grin. “ There’s a seat just around the next bend. We could sit down so you don’t fall down from the shock.”

Sam just nodded and let him lead her to the seat. They sat down and she turned to face him, wearing a confused expression. “ Okay, so explain this to me. You’re a family so how can she not be involved in any of the things you’ve told me about? I mean, surely she was at Charlie’s play? Or his first baseball match?”

“ No.” Jack shook his head sadly. “ I don’t know why I’m telling you this, but Sara… She’s not really into the mother-thing. As far as he’s concerned, she’s more like a passing acquaintance than his mother, at the best of times.”

“ That’s so sad.” Her eyes clouded over and she blinked to clear them. “ I don’t understand it, though. Charlie’s a great kid, any woman would be lucky to have him as their son. It must hurt him.”

“ Actually, it doesn’t,” he interjected with a sigh. “ He’s never known it any other way. He doesn’t even call her ‘Mom.’ It’s Sara, if he ever talks to her. Hey!” He saw a tear slide down her cheek and wiped it away with his thumb, his hand lingering to cup her cheek. “ I didn’t mean to upset you..”

“ Sorry.” Sam apologised softly. “ It’s hard for me, to hear you say that. It’s not fair,” she heaved a deep and heavy sigh. “ At least Charlie has you, though. That’s something, although it must be difficult for you. You’re in the middle.”

His hand still cupped her face, his thumb caressing her cheek supportively, almost lovingly. “ I guess it’s difficult.. Sam? What upset you? You were upset before when Luke mentioned his grandmother.. I don’t mean to pry.. Well, actually, I do but I’m here if you want to talk about it.”

A small smile flared on her face but died as quickly as it came. She broke eye contact and turned her head, his hand dropping from her face as she stared into space, a lost look in her eyes. “ My mother died when I was fourteen,” she explained in a shaky voice. “ That’s why it’s so hard for me to understand how Charlie can cope. She was a big part of my life. When she died.. I still miss her and I still needed her till I was at least, oh, twenty-five? You must be a wonderful father to make up for it, and a wonderful husband to keep everything together.”

“ I’m sorry about your Mom, Sam.” Jack took her hand in his and held it tightly. “ It must have been tough.”

“ My father was there, he tried his best to raise us but his work was his life. He’s a General now. He and Mark haven’t been on speaking terms since it happened because Mark blames him. It was tough,” she admitted with a rueful smile. “ We moved around a lot so it was difficult to settle down, more so with two guys who refused to talk to each other over dinner.”

“ How did your Mom die?” He prompted softly. “ You don’t have to tell me..”

“ ’S okay,” Sam answered with a sigh. “ If we’re confiding in each other, I might as well trust you enough to answer your questions.” She paused and took a deep breath, looking out over the lake, collecting her painful thoughts. “ My mother died in a car accident. She was on her way home from a business trip, my Dad was supposed to meet her at the airport. He was running late so Mom took a cab, she wanted to see us about something. The cab was involved in a headlong collision, the other driver was drunk. He got away with minor cuts and bruises, my Mom.. They said she died immediately.” Tears pricked her eyes and ran down her cheeks but she wiped them away angrily. “ I remember the moment my Dad told me. I was making Mom’s favourite chocolate cookies. He came into the kitchen, and I could tell he’d been crying. I asked him where she was and knew before he even answered. I just knew.”

The tears were rolling steadily down her cheeks by this point. Jack, unable to stand seeing her in such pain, pulled her fully into his embrace. “ It’s okay,” he murmured gently, rubbing her back in large soothing circles. “ Everything’s okay.”

It was another twenty minutes before they joined the others. Sam took the time to compose herself and Jack took the time to explain how he was unhappy in his marriage, and only ‘sticking it out’ for the sake of his son – something that upset Sam further, although she hid it. She had a good point, though, which she made clear to Jack – if Charlie didn’t see Sara as a mother, what was the point in the three of them staying in an unhappy atmosphere for his sake?

The group soon parted ways as night was upon them and the air was cooling rapidly. Charlie exchanged addresses with Luke and then went home with his father and Kawalsky. Abby said goodbye to ‘Uncle Teal’c’ and ‘Uncle Danny’ before getting in the car with her brother, watching Sam and Janet say goodbye to their two remaining friends before the four drove back to Sam’s apartment. Teal’c and Daniel, left to clear the picnic spot, headed back to the base where Daniel planned to use the Internet in order to explain the concept of baseball to Teal’c all over again.

*~*

The weekend passed. Sam said goodbye to her nephew and niece promising to get in touch with them again soon. Jack and his son prepared for the arrival of Sara O’Neill, whose homecoming was less than welcome and not as warm as it should have been.

Most of SG-1, plus extended members of Janet and Kawalsky, were looking forward to their downtime being over so they could get back to working, get back to being a team and doing some good in the world.

“ So what did you and Jack talk about when you went for that walk?” Janet all but pounced on Sam when the Captain made it to her lab. “ You still haven’t told me.”

“ Janet,” Sam laughed and rolled her eyes, shutting the door to the lab to give them some privacy. “ Your incorrigible, you know that, don’t you?”

“ I’d answer but I think that was a rhetorical question,” Janet retorted with a smug grin.

“ Okay.. What exactly was going on with you and Kawalsky?” Sam shot back with a devious smile. “ You haven’t come clean about that, either.”

“ Quit changing the subject, I asked first.” Janet pouted.

Sam gave her friend a doubtful look. “ You really want us to have ‘girl talk’ here? Shouldn’t we save this kinda thing till we have a girl’s night in?”

“ No, because you’ll be going off-planet sometime soon and I’ll no doubt have to treat a member of SG-1 or SG-2 or some other SG-team so we won’t have time later.” Janet answered matter-of-factly. “ So what did you and Colonel O’Neill talk about?”

“ If you want me to tell you we declared our undying love for one another, you’re gonna be severely disappointed,” Sam sighed.

“ But you admitted there was something between you, right?” The good Doctor pressed eagerly.

Sam gave her a one-shoulder shrug. “ Not really. We just talked about life in general. We talked about our careers, our families, Charlie..” Sam smiled but it faded quickly. She bit her lip and regarded Janet with a thoughtful look. “ Has Kawalsky or Daniel mentioned anything to you about the Colonel’s marriage?”

Janet frowned. “ Not that I can think of.” She cleared her throat, feeling uncomfortable. “ No one talks about it, not even the Colonel. I assumed he’d asked them not to say anything till he’d spoken to you himself.”

“ He did, I was just wondering.” Sam sighed heavily again.

“ What’s up? You look sad.” Janet took a step closer to her friend, leaning against the workbench and studying Sam silently.

“ I am sad, it’s an all-round sad situation,” Sam murmured, tracing the patterns of the wood grain with her index finger.

“ You wanna talk about it?” Janet put a concerned hand on Sam’s shoulder, surprised to find tears shining in her friend’s eyes when she looked up.

“ I don’t think I can.” Sam closed her eyes and took a deep, calming breath. “ It’s not really got anything to do with me.. Colonel O’Neill confided in me, I can’t betray that trust. Can I?”

“ Honey, I think he’d understand. If he knew this was upsetting you, whatever this is, he’d want you to talk to someone.” Janet pulled up a stool. “ And you know I won’t blab to the whole base.”

“ Doctor-patient confidentiality?” Sam smiled a watery smile.

“ No,” Janet shook her head and smiled back. “ Friend-to-friend confidentiality.”

There were a few moments of silence before Sam spoke up, her eyes teary. “ Colonel O’Neill.. Jack.. He’s unhappy, Janet. He said he feels trapped in his marriage, because of Charlie. He feels like he has to keep their family together, even though Charlie and Sara aren’t close. Oh, God.” Sam bit her bottom lip to keep it form quivering. “ He sounded so unhappy, Janet.”

“ And you’re hurting because of it,” Janet finished quietly.

Sam nodded. “ I know it sounds stupid, I know I don’t even know him that well but I can’t stand the thought of him being miserable.”

“ Oh, Sam.” Janet tugged on her friends arm and Sam went willingly into her arms for a reassuring hug. “ I.. I don’t know what to say. I don’t really understand.. If the Colonel’s unhappy and so is Charlie, why don’t they leave?”

“ Because he still loves his wife, he must do,” Sam’s reply was muffled by Janet’s shoulder. “ And he wants to protect his son from loosing his parents. It’s not fair, Janet. It’s just not fair.”

*~*

The two women stayed confined in the lab for a while, talking in hushed voices, until Sam was called to the control room by General Hammond. Janet, deeply troubled by what she’d learned, concerned for both Sam and Jack, wandered through the hallways heading towards the infirmary. So preoccupied was she that she didn’t hear or see Kawalsky, Daniel or Teal’c until she almost walked into them.

“ Whoa, hey!” Kawalsky caught hold of her by the elbow before she lost her balance. “ Careful, Doc!”

“ You okay, Janet?” Daniel gave her a concerned look.

“ Huh?” Janet blinked, startled out of her reverie, blushing lightly when she realised just how out of it she had been.

“ Doctor Fraiser, are you not well?" Teal’c remained expressionless, although it was a perplexed-expressionless that only he could accomplish.

“ I’m.. No,” Janet shook her head. “ Have any of you seen Sam today? Or spoken to the Colonel?”

“ No,” Kawalsky looked to Daniel who also shook his head. “ Jack met the General this morning and has been trying to catch up with his paperwork since. We guessed Hammond told him there’d be no more missions for SG-1 till some of the paperwork was filed.”

“ We haven’t seen Sam, either,” Daniel added. “ We’ve been introducing Teal’c to the culinary delights of Jell-O.”

Janet tried to smile but failed. The frown returned. “ Can we move this to my office?”

Silently, without hesitation or protest, the three men followed the Doctor to her office. Teal’c shut the door behind them and stood on guard to make sure no one could intrude. Janet sat down at her desk, pondering her thoughts as Kawalsky and Daniel leaned against opposite walls, waiting patiently for her to speak.

“ I shouldn’t be saying this .. If I didn’t think you already knew, I wouldn’t be telling you any of this,” Janet began uncomfortably.

“ Telling us what?” Daniel prompted gently when she seemed to stop mid-sentence.

Janet looked at him, biting her lip, before taking a deep breath and blurting out the truth. “ Jack told Sam he’s unhappy in his marriage and now Sam’s hurting because she thinks he’s miserable and only sticking it out for Charlie. She feels sorry for him because she thinks he’s stuck in the middle of loving his wife and his son who don’t seem to get on with each other.”

“ Okay.” Daniel frowned deeply. “ That doesn’t sound right, Kawalsky. Does it?”

Kawalsky shook his head. “ Could this be any more messed up?” He heaved a deep sigh. “ Jack needs to know what Sam thinks. He wouldn’t want her to think that or be upset over this. That’s the whole reason he wanted to tell her personally in the first place.” He gave Janet a solemn look. “ What I’m about to tell you stays in this room.” At her equally solemn nod, Kawalsky continued. “ Jack married Sara because she was pregnant, not with Charlie. That baby was lost and then when he was thinking about leaving, Sara got pregnant with Charlie. He loves his son, he’d do anything for him. He’d even stay in an unhappy marriage if he thought it would make a more stable environment for him.”

“ But surely Colonel O’Neill can see it’s not healthy for Charlie to live with parents who don’t love each other,” Janet protested.

“ Maybe he needs to be reassured that it’s for the best,” Daniel suggested. “ Or maybe he does love Sara.” He paused and thought over what he’d just said. “ No, well, maybe. I mean, Sara gave him Charlie so he probably loves her for that and thinks he owes it to her to stay and keep up the appearance of a happy marriage.”

The others contemplated this in silence. “ Whatever the reasoning, I’ve been wanting to bring it up for sometime,” Kawalsky admitted slowly. “ I know Jack’s unhappy. If I didn’t, I wouldn’t be all for him and Sam getting to know each other better. I think it’s about time all of this came out in the open.”

“ I agree,” Daniel nodded. “ Maybe we could have a guys-only poker night and get him to talk about it?”

“ There’s a hockey match on Friday, we could get together at my place,” Kawalsky suggested. Daniel nodded again so he turned to Teal’c. “ How ’bout it, Teal’c? You want an excuse to learn about another Earth sport?”

Teal’c answered with an affirmative tilt of his head and Janet smiled at them. At least that was part of the worry lifted from her shoulders. Now all she needed was for Sam to be kept busy until Friday night so her friend wouldn’t have too much time to think about it.

~*~

Part Four

~*~

As it happened, Janet didn’t worry for long. After a few non-eventful missions, SG-1 plus SG-3 were sent on a mission to P3X-797, The Land of Darkness and Light, where they encountered the Touched and the Untouched. After returning through the Stargate, a member of SG-3 attacked Teal’c, the first sign of trouble.

It appeared the two teams, minus Teal’c, who was protected by his symbiote which Jack had taken to calling ‘Junior’, and Daniel, who was taking allergy medicine, had become members of the ‘touched’, bringing back a virus with them that soon spread across the whole of the base.

The main symptom of the ‘touched’ virus was that those infected reverted back to the primitive ways of life and behaviour like animals. The men on base acted territorial and challenged each other in violent clashes; the women became sexually aggressive, searching out the strongest mates.

Sam was one of the first females to be infected and unsurprisingly to Janet, her sights were firmly set on a certain Colonel O’Neill. After she had been confined to the infirmary, – after attempting to seduce her CO in the shared locker room – Jack started showing symptoms. He attacked Daniel when the younger man had expressed concern for Sam, who was - to the primitive Jack - already claimed by himself. Kawalsky was also infected, and displayed this by becoming in a fight with another man over the uninfected Doctor Fraiser, who was also taking allergy tablets – the undiscovered cure.

After two more trips to P3X-797, the nightmarish plague was over. All those infected, including General Hammond himself, were cured. Many were still embarrassed or injured from their experiences – Sam was both. During her confinement, she had been put in a holding cell with another woman – one who hadn’t taken to having a roommate and had taken it out on Sam by stabbing her in the stomach.

Luckily, Janet has tended to the wound quickly and the chances were in her favour that there would be no scar. That, however, was the least of her problems. Adding further turmoil to Sam’s already confused emotional state was the fact that she had kissed her Colonel. And he remembered, no matter what he said. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been able to make that “sweet little tank top” comment on their way home from the Land of Darkness and Light.

Kawalsky was also suffering from embarrassment, avoiding Janet for as long as he could before the General himself sent him for a check-up. After a few awkward moments, he apologised meekly and all was forgiven. Their conversation moved onto Sam and Jack, their awkwardness giving into amusement.

“ You told Jack she chose him because he was the strongest?” Kawalsky grinned with amusement. “ If that was true, wouldn’t she have gone for Teal’c? Or General Hammond, since he’s the one in charge of the base? Besides, we all know Lt. Johnson attacked Teal’c because he’s been holding a grudge against him for a long time, before we even knew about that planet.”

“ I told Colonel O’Neill what he was comfortable hearing,” Janet shrugged. “ I don’t think he’d have accepted that she chose him because she was already attracted to him. Sam’s in denial, too. She won’t accept that all the virus did was let her guard down so she could act on what she already felt.” Janet smiled softly. “ She’s a little embarrassed.”

Kawalsky chuckled. “ Jack’s embarrassed, too. He’s apologised to Danny over and over again for reacting like he did.”

“ I’m not surprised!” Janet giggled. “ Poor Daniel, that was quite a beating. And all for expressing concern over Sam.” She giggled again. “ News of that has spread all over base – Sam’s off-limits now to everyone. I think they’ve learned a very valuable lesson.” She grew serious again. “ I wonder how the Colonel’s going to explain his bruises to his wife. He can hardly say he was jumped on by Sam and then beat up someone he thought was moving in on her, can he?”

“ Actually,” Kawalsky looked around the infirmary and lowered his voice. “ Promise you won’t tell Jack if I tell you?”

“ I promise,” Janet also spoke in a whisper.

“ I kinda maybe told Charlie what happened..” Kawalsky murmured, grinning wickedly. “ Not the classified stuff, just that Sam and Jack kissed.”

Janet’s eyes widened and she hit his arm lightly. “ Charlie! What were you thinking?”

“ The kid asked to be kept up-to-date,” Kawalsky shrugged casually. “ It’s not like he doesn’t know something’s going on and he’s all for it, too. According to him, Sam is often a topic of conversation at home.”

“ Really?” Janet’s brow furrowed as she looked at him in surprise. “ Sam? Our Sam?”

Kawalsky nodded. “ Apparently,” he continued in a very hushed voice, “Jack said Sam’s name when he was asleep or just waking up. Sara’s been demanding to know more about her since then, especially since Charlie let it slip – accidentally, poor kid – about their picnic with us and Sam’s nephew and niece.”

Janet felt a smile tug at her lips. “ So this thing between Sam and Jack is definitely mutual.”

“ And everyone knows it but them,” Kawalsky agreed. “ Hopefully, that’s gonna change soon, too.”

~*~

Their planned ‘guys night in’ was a little postponed but it went ahead the moment it was possible. Charlie O’Neill, not wanting to be left out, tagged along and the night began.

The first part of the evening was taken up with teaching Teal’c and Charlie how to play poker. It took Teal’c a while to get the hand of bluffing but it soon became clear he was a natural at it, as was Charlie. By the last hand, Jack, Kawalsky and Daniel were all out of pocket and the winnings were shared equally between Charlie and his ‘uncle’ Teal’c.

They then watched the hockey match from Friday night that Kawalsky had taped. Charlie fell asleep on the couch in his father’s arms as Daniel launched into an explanation of hockey for Teal’c benefit, one that wasn’t easy for the archaeologist since he wasn’t exactly a big fan of the sport – or sports in general.

“ Is it not against the rules of engagement for the players to use their bats as weapons?” Teal’c asked seriously the moment Daniel paused to breathe.

“ They’re called sticks in hockey, Teal’c,” Daniel answered patiently. “ And it *is* against the rules..”

“ But it’s part of the game,” Kawalsky spoke up. He noticed Jack was silent and also noticed the reason why. “ You wanna take him up to the spare room?”

Jack looked up from gazing tenderly at his son. “ Yeah, yeah I will.” Carefully, trying not to wake his son, Jack stood and gently carried Charlie upstairs to where Kawalsky’s spare room was. He lay his son down and tucked him in, lingering to kiss him softly on the forehead before joining his friends downstairs.

“ We’re going to have to bring it up soon,” Daniel was insisting in a low voice as Jack approached the doorway. Curious as to what was going on – and why he hadn’t been included – Jack hovered just out of sight so he could listen in. “ Question is, how to do it subtlety. Jack won’t like the thought we’ve all been discussing it behind his back.”

“ Discussing what?” Jack walked into the room, one eyebrow raised as he looked back and fourth between this friends and colleagues, eyeing them suspiciously.

“ Your marriage, and your relationship with Captain Carter,” Teal’c stated bluntly.

“ We’re gonna have to work on the subtlety thing, Teal’c,” Kawalsky rolled his eyes, using trademark O’Neill sarcasm.

Jack frowned and sat on the arm of the couch, staring at them in disbelief. “ Someone care to tell me what business that is of yours?”

“ Look, Jack,” Kawalsky glanced quickly at Daniel and Teal’c but neither made any attempt to take over the explaining. “ We’re not supposed to tell you this but Sam’s pretty upset.”

Daniel nodded to discreetly show his agreement at Kawalsky’s chosen path of discussion, knowing Sam’s involvement was probably the only thing that could defuse a potentially dangerous situation. Thinking of the beating he’d taken from Jack just over twenty-four hours ago, Daniel rubbed his cheek instinctively. “ We’re not trying to interfere,” he spoke up. “ But we’re concerned. You and Sam are our friends and we don’t want either of you to be upset.”

“ Carter’s upset?” Jack asked after a moment’s pause, concern etched on his face and shining in his eyes. “ Because of me?”

“ She’s upset because you’re upset, because you’re stuck in the middle of Charlie and Sara, two people she thinks you love but who don’t feel as strongly for each other,” Kawalsky answered softly.

“ And Sam told you guys this?” The Colonel gave them a doubtful look.

“ Well, no,” Daniel confessed. “ She told Janet and Janet told us, even though she said she wouldn’t tell anyone. Janet’s just as.. concerned as we are.”

For a long few moments, no one said anything. Jack buried his head in his hands and groaned out of frustration. “ For cryin’ out loud.” He rubbed his temples, feeling a headache building up. “ She’s not supposed to think that,” he muttered, half under his breath.

“ Erm.. Then what is she supposed to think, Jack?” Daniel asked, risking a deadly glare from Jack. “ I mean, what were you hoping to achieve by telling her that?”

“ I don’t know,” Jack admitted with a defeated sigh after a long minute of deafening silence. “ I really don’t know.”

“ Jack ..” Daniel gave his friend a frustrated look. “ We can’t help you until you admit it to yourself!”

“ Admit what?” Jack demanded defensively his gaze snapping up and locking with that of the archaeologists. “ Daniel? Admit what?”

“ You tell us. Why’d you tell Sam you were unhappy? Were you hoping she’d feel sorry for you? And then what?” Daniel glared at him. “ What do you want from her? You want her to wait till Charlie’s graduated so you can leave Sara with a guilt-free conscience? Or were you hoping to give Sam a reason to make cheating on Sara okay? What were you expecting? Sam to willing start an affair with you?”

“ No! I’d never put Sam in that position!” Jack realised this mistake as soon as the words were out of his mouth. He knew what his friends were getting at. It was obvious; he had just put Sam before his own wife, which meant..

“ Admit it,” Daniel’s tone softened as he watched as the truth dawned on Jack.

“ I.. I care about Sam,” Jack mumbled, feeling more than a little uncomfortable with the topic of conversation. “ A lot more than I should.”

“ Well, duh!” Kawalsky rolled his eyes, earning a grin from Daniel and a glare from Jack. “ Give the man a pat on the back, he finally gets it!”

“ So? There’s nothing I can do about it,” Jack argued, scowling deeply. “ I won’t cheat on my wife, I won’t do that to Charlie or to Sam.”

“ Or to Sara,” Kawalsky added, arching an eyebrow. “ Which leads us to your marriage. If it were a real marriage, you wouldn’t be having these feelings for Sam. At least not to the point where you feel guilty about them.”

“ Not if you loved Sara,” Daniel agreed. “ So ..”

“ So what? You’re telling me to give up on my marriage? To quit?” Jack frowned. “ I can’t do that.”

“ And why not, Jack?” Kawalsky demanded. “ Because you love Sara, because you’re happy? Or because you think it’s what’s best for Charlie? How can it be? He’s as unhappy as you are! If you just stopped trying so hard to make it work, you’d see you’re not the only one suffering! By trying to protect Charlie, you’re hurting him!” Kawalsky stopped mid-rant when he noticed something the others hadn’t. He paled slightly, staring at a point over Jack’s shoulder until the others turned and saw what he was looking at.

“ He’s right, Daddy,” Charlie O’Neill timidly spoke up. Jack reached a hand out to his son, which Charlie took after a split-second’s hesitation. “ I don’t like it at home.”

“ Why didn’t you say something?” Jack murmured, pulling his son into his arms and closing his eyes.

Charlie buried his face in this father’s shoulder as their friends discreetly snuck out of the living room. “ Because I didn’t want you to be angry with me. I didn’t wanna upset you,” he sniffed.

Jack rocked his son in his embrace and their conversation continued in hushed voices until the small hours. By the time the other three men returned to check on them, both father and son were sound asleep, wearing identical peaceful expressions.

“ What do ya think they decided?” Kawalsky whispered nervously to Daniel as they covered the sleeping pair with a blanket.

“ Hopefully the thing that’s best for them both,” Daniel whispered back.

“ And Captain Carter,” Teal’c added with a raised eyebrow. Kawalsky and Daniel nodded their agreement and left the room.

After showing Daniel and Teal’c out, Kawalsky headed to his own room, casting one last glance over his sleeping guests, hoping whatever had been decided was for the best, for the good of heir family and for the good of SG-1.

~*~

It seemed like Jack and Charlie were determined to keep their friends in suspense. When Kawalsky woke up, he found his friends had left, the only sign of their having been there was a folded blanket and a short note of thanks. Both Janet and Daniel shared his disappointment when he spoke to them, although Teal’c stayed non-committal.

Until they returned to base on Monday morning, they were all left in the dark. It wasn’t until they saw Charlie in the commissary with Sam that they realised something had dramatically changed in the O’Neill household. Sharing a triumphant grin, Daniel joined Sam and Charlie as Kawalsky was called to a briefing with all other SG-team leaders. Teal’c and Janet left for the infirmary in order to run some more tests on his symbiote in an attempt to learn more about the Goa’uld.

“ Hey,” Daniel greeted them, still grinning wildly. He sat opposite Charlie, noticing the young boy had been engrossed in conversation with Sam – when he wasn’t shovelling his fruit loops in his mouth, that is. “ So you joined the Air Force without telling me? I thought we were friends, Charlie!”

Charlie giggled. “ No, Uncle Daniel,” he spoke around a spoonful of cereal. “ Me and Dad are staying here till we find a new home.” The boy sounded smug and on closer inspection, Daniel saw a brightness and enthusiasm that hadn’t been there a few days ago.

“ On base?” He looked to Sam, who nodded in reply and gave him a small smile of encouragement. “ Wow, your friends must be pretty envious, it’s not everyone who gets to visit a classified military base.”

“ They don’t know I’m staying here, Uncle Daniel,” Charlie rolled his eyes. “ The General said it was a secret because of special circum-stuff.”

“ Circumstances,” Daniel corrected with a grin, noticing Sam try and hide a smile of her own. “ So you like it here?”

“ Uh-huh,” Charlie nodded enthusiastically, swallowing another mouthful before continuing. “ Sam says that when Daddy’s busy and I’m not somewhere else, she’ll teach me how to use the computers and stuff. If the General says it’s okay.”

“ She did, did she?” The archaeologist arched an eyebrow, making Sam blush and look away. That would mean Charlie and Sam had spent some time together making plans, quite a bit of time. And Daniel wondered if she’d noticed she was just ‘Sam’. Not ‘Aunt Sam’, just plain Sam.

“ Well I could always do with some help in the labs. Or some company, since you guys are always busy doing other stuff,” Sam defended herself. “ And Charlie’s on vacation so he’ll need something to do. If he doesn’t mind putting up with me, he’s more than welcome to join me.”

“ I wanna join you,” Charlie insisted beaming brightly. “ And Dad said when SG-1’s busy, I can spend some time with Aunt Janet and Uncle Charlie.”

“ Really?” Daniel smiled. “ Sounds like you have everything planned. How long do you think you’ll be living on base?”

“ Till Dad finds us a new house,” Charlie answered, slowly becoming aware that the room was filling with more and more people, who were all giving their table curious looks. He edged his chair closer to Sam’s, starting to look uncomfortable.

Sam noticed and put a reassuring hand on his arm. “ You want to go look around? You haven’t seen the labs yet, have you? Or we could go to one of the common rooms, they’re usually quiet and there’s a TV..”

“ And a candy machine,” Daniel added encouragingly.

Charlie nodded at the suggestion and smiled gratefully. As soon as he three were standing, he reached for Sam’s hand, smiling shyly up at her as she led the way out of the room. Daniel followed trailing slightly behind, grinning to himself. Already there was an attachment between Charlie and Sam. With time, he suspected – and hoped – that attachment would spread to include Jack as well.

~*~

Half an hour later, Jack and Kawalsky were scouring the base for their friends and Jack’s son. It was only when they passed Janet, who was smiling knowingly to herself that they were given the answer they were looking for. She smiled warmly at them as they stopped her in the hallway, knowing instinctively what they were going to ask.

“ Good morning, Sirs,” she nodded politely.

“ Mornin’, Doc,” Jack nodded back. “ I don’t supposed you’ve seen my errant son anywhere round here? Captain Carter was supposed to be keeping an eye on him but she’s disappeared, too. So has Space Monkey.”

“ They’re in Sam’s lab, Sir. With Teal’c,” Janet supplied with a smile. “ I think Charlie’s having a quick lesson in the solar system and black hole theories.”

“ He is?” Jack blinked in surprise. “ Willingly?”

“ It was either that or hear about the history of the Egyptian culture,” was her amused answer. “ Sam’s letting him use her computer to do some research instead of having to listen to Doctor Jackson lecture them.”

Jack grinned but hid it quickly, hoping it had gone unnoticed. He gave Janet a nod of thanks and continued on, leaving Kawalsky and Janet to smile triumphantly at each other.

“ Charlie and Sam have hit it off,” Janet informed him quietly. “ I doubt they even noticed me leaving and they probably won’t even notice when the Colonel arrives.”

“ Well as much as I’d like to see this, I think the less of us there, the better,” Kawalsky decided, giving Janet his most charming grin. “ Can I walk you to the infirmary? It’d give me an excuse not to intrude if Jack asks where I got to.”

“ Okay,” she smiled sweetly, a light blush staining her cheeks. “ Though I don’t think anyone would believe I’d lost my way.”

“ Probably not,” he agreed with a chuckle but they turned and started casually walking towards the infirmary regardless.

In the meantime, Jack had arrived at the labs and was standing in the doorway of Captain Carter’s lab, his attention well and truly captured by what was going on inside of it. It wasn’t anything special, by any means, but Teal’c and Daniel were as entranced as he was, much to obliviousness of Charlie and Sam.

Somehow, they’d managed to forget there was anyone else in the room. Sam was sitting at her desk, with Charlie on her knee, and they were both staring at the computer monitor, having a murmured conversation and sharing lots of smiles and giggles. Jack was surprised by the fact Charlie had taken to Sam so quickly and all three of the men watching were amazed at what they saw in Charlie’s eyes when he looked at Sam. It was affectionate, adoring, even loving, and it was clear the two were already close – closer than Jack had seen Charlie ever get to his own mother.

Teal’c was the first to notice Jack’s presence. He motioned to Daniel and the two quietly made their way out of the lab. Jack barely noticed them move past him, acknowledging them with a slight nod, but his eyes were fixed firmly on his son and the woman holding him.

He watched for another ten minutes before clearing his throat and letting them know he was there. Sam looked up from the computer screen first, blushing – much to Jack’s delight – when she saw who was standing there. Charlie just grinned when he saw his father, and made no attempt to move.

“ Colonel O’Neill, Sir,” Sam gave him a quick smile. “ We were just..”

“ Avoiding Space Monkey’s lectures,” Jack cut in. “ I know, Doc. Fraiser filled me in. So whatcha looking at?” He walked over to them, ruffling Charlie’s hair affectionately.

“ Space,” Charlie answered in an awe-filled tone as he clicked on a button on screen, using the mouse just like Sam had shown him. His eyes widened as an animation started up, showing the stars whizzing by and the planets moving in rotation. He clicked another button and was bewitched by some old footage of the first moon landing. He turned to his father once the clip had ended, his eyes wider than Jack thought possible. “ It’s great, isn’t it, Dad? It’s so cool!”

“ You’ve got my son interested in space?” Jack gave Sam a warm look. “ I’m impressed.”

“ Sam was gonna go to NASA but she came here instead,” Charlie piped up before his attention drifted back to the monitor.

“ I dreamt of going, but I probably wouldn’t have got in. Besides, I haven’t got a clue about any of the constellations,” Sam corrected with an embarrassed smile.

“ Would you ever consider going to NASA if they asked you?” Jack asked curiously – not to mention a little worriedly. Surely he couldn’t have been running the risk of losing one of the best second-in-commands he’d had?

She gave him a casual, one-shouldered shrug and a small smile. “ Probably not, not with having the SGC. I couldn’t give it up, even if it does mean I stay constellation-ignorant.”

“ My Dad knows about the stars,” Charlie decided to speak up. “ He has a telescope, too. When we get our new house, Dad says he’ll show me the stars. He could show you, too. Couldn’t you, Dad? It’d be fun, Sam could come over when we move and you could show us both.”

“ I didn’t know you were interested in astrology, Colonel?” Sam asked quickly, flushing lightly and giving the Colonel an apologetic look, both of them well aware of Charlie’s motives. “ You’ve been holding out on us.”

Jack grinned and rolled his eyes at his son. “ It’s just as hobby, really.” He looked into his son’s hopeful expression and felt his own doubts melt away. <Regulations, Jack,> he told himself. <Sara might not be that much of an issue now but the regulations certainly are.> “ Something to fill my time when I was retired.”

That earned a smile - relieved or disappointed, Jack wasn’t entirely sure – and Sam tilted her head to one side. “ That must have been strange, retiring early and then coming back to active duty. You don’t talk about it much.”

“ Maybe that’ll change.” Jack spoke quietly, looking deeply into her eyes as he did so. For a long moment, they were caught up in one of their intimate stares – one Sam and Jack were unknowingly well known for throughout the entire base – even by General Hammond himself. Only Charlie scrambling off Sam’s knee, grinning like the cat that got the cream, broke their stare.

“ Can I go get some chocolate and soda, Daddy?” He asked sweetly, giving his father the most innocent look he could muster. “ I won’t get lost and I promise not to get in trouble.”

“ As hard as I find that to believe, I’ll let you go.” Jack dug some loose change out from his trouser pocket and gave it to his son. “ You can get me a soda, too. Sam, ya want anything?”

“ I’m fine, thanks,” Sam smiled one of her special smiles, making both father and son feel special without even knowing it. Her smile widened a little when Charlie stepped out of the lab and she gave Jack a suspicious look. “ So that’s why you brought him here? So he can fetch whatever you want?”

“ Ah, my secret plan thwarted by my delectable Captain!” Jack grinned slyly, noticing with some pleasure the blush colouring her cheeks. “ Tell ya what, keep it to yourself and he can fetch things for you, too.”

Neither noticed Charlie pop his head round the doorway or run away giggling to himself. They flirted the minutes away, moving closer so she could give him an impromptu computer lesson. Jack’s hand covered Sam’s on the mouse and the tension levels of the room shot up.

“ Sam.” He waited until she turned her face to his before continuing, both of them realising just how close they’d got. “ I.. What Charlie said before..” His voice trailed off and he felt his cheeks grow warm, much to Sam’s amusement.

“ Sir?” She prompted with an even expression not willing to let anything of what she was feeling although her eyes gave her away a little. “ Something wrong?”

“ Yep, but nothing we can fix right now,” Jack mumbled, bringing his eyes back up to hers. “ What I’m trying to say, in my ever-so-smooth O’Neill way,” that made her smile, “ is that I’d like it if you’d come over when Charlie and I move into our new place. To look at the stars, I mean. And other stuff.” The last part was mumbled like a nervous schoolboy and she almost missed it. Almost, but not quite.

Lowering her gaze, Sam self-consciously bit her bottom lip. “ I.. If you’re asking because you think you have to because of what Charlie said.. You don’t.”

“ Sam.” He lifted the hand covering hers up to her cheek, gently tipping her face up to his. “ I wouldn’t be asking.. and I wouldn’t be gibbering like a teenager.. if I didn’t want you to accept.”

“ Really?” Sam’s face and eyes lit up unmistakably and Jack just *knew* that he – they – were doing the right thing.

“ Really,” he confirmed, his hand lingering near her face, his thumb moving on it’s own accord to touch the soft skin there. “ If you want to.”

She gave him another smile – the one she seemed to reserve only for him. “ I’d like that.”

He grinned widely, somehow resisting temptation to kiss her and straightened. “ Well, I should be going to find my son. He must have got lost.”

“ It’s an easy thing to do,” Sam smiled softly as he backtracked to the lab door, turning back to give her a little wave before disappearing from sight. “ Yeah, I’d like that,” she repeated quietly to herself. “ Probably a little too much.”

Sighing to herself, Sam logged out of the program she’d opened for Charlie and got down to work, doing what the Air Force paid her to do, which was not sit around and daydream about her CO.

~*~

Continued in Part two

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