Reflective Fate I: Division of Fate: parts 5 - 8

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Part Five

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Several mediocre missions came and went. Jack and Charlie somehow found time to move into their new house, with the help of SG-1 plus Kawalsky, Janet, Ferretti, Lieutenant Connor and several others from base. It was because many of the base personnel had helped the move flow more gently that a housewarming party was being thrown. Invitations were left unspecific - whoever could make it was welcome. SG-1 were the only confirmed guests, having been given a few days of downtime before their schedule picked up – downtime Sam suspected was down to General Hammond who had a soft spot for Charlie, having met him during his stay on base.

Many of other familiar faces dropped by at some stage during the daylong gathering. Kawalsky had stayed for as long as he could, but SG-2 was called away for a mission. Janet also put in an appearance but was needed back at base to treat SG-5 after a recon mission gone badly. General Hammond also stayed for ten minutes or so, before something urgently required his attention and he had to leave.

It wasn’t until darkness fell that Sam managed to sneak off to the roof – one of her favourite places, although she wouldn’t admit it. Several weeks passed since Jack had left his wife, taking Charlie with him. He hadn’t been wasting any of that time, either. As soon as the house was found and payments were dealt with, Jack filed for divorced with Charlie’s blessing.

The infamous Sara O’Neill had yet to make an appearance, in Sam’s life anyway. Sam had gathered from Charlie that his mother that simply ‘gone.’ Staying with friends or family, no one knew. It saddened her to know this, as well as confused her. Jack and Charlie confused her. Neither seemed to be missing Sara but it seemed she hadn’t done much when she had been around anyway.

Sighing heavily, Sam rested her hands on the balcony and looked up to the stars. She let the breeze wash over her, taking with it the sounds of the party below. It was so peaceful here, so beautiful with the stars for company.. At the moment, it felt more like home than her apartment did. But it wasn’t home, not hers. She sighed again and closed her eyes, seeing the stars in her minds eye. As much time as she’d spent with the Colonel and Charlie, nothing much had changed in their relationship. Well, not in her relationship with Jack. With Charlie, it was another story. She cared so much for the child already, something she was sure would only lead to heartbreak and, most likely, that heartbreak would be hers.

“ Hey there, Sammy.”

The voice, though familiar, was an unwelcome surprise. Sam opened her eyes and cursed under her breath before turning to face him.

“ Jonas.” Her eyes narrowed as he took a step closer to her and she instinctively took up a defensive stance, her arms crossed over her chest but ready to strike out if necessary.

“ Easy, baby-doll,” Jonas Hanson, Captain and leader of SG-9, grinned toothily at his ex-fiancée. “ ’M not gonna try anything.”

“ I’ve heard that before,” she retorted evenly. “ What are you doing here?”

Jonas’s grin widened and he started towards her. “ I was invited, baby-doll. Most of us were. Besides,” he drawled with a sly wink. “ I’ve been trying to find you for a week now but you’ve a very busy lady. I head through the grapevine that if I found Colonel O’Neill, I’d find you somewhere near-by. No one’s sure who’s following who, though.” He leered suggestively and she felt her stomach turn. “ You wanna clear it up for me?”

“ If you think I’m going to dignify that pathetic gossip with an answer..” Sam let her voice trail off dangerously and turned away from him with a sigh. “ What do you want?”

“ A second chance would be nice, but I don’t think you’ll give it to me,” Jonas answered with a disappointed sigh. “ Will you?”

“ No,” was all she said.

“ Sure I can’t change your mind?” He murmured, moving closer to her – nearly too close for comfort. “ I’m not the same man I was, Sam. I’ve changed.”

Sam saw him reach for her out of the corner of her eye and flinched away instinctively. She turned to face him with what she hoped was a cool but calm look and put as much distance between them as the balcony behind her would allow. “ I’ve heard that before, too,” she replied softly but with a firm edge.

“ I mean it this time,” he insisted, and she recognised the first traces of desperation in his voice. Desperation and Jonas were a dangerous combination.

“ Jonas, the answer is no. We’ve done that once and once was more than enough --” He cut her off by grabbing her wrists roughly, catching her off-guard. “ Jonas..”

“ One more chance,” he continued as though she hadn’t spoke. “ I have changed and I can prove it.” With that, he pulled her closer hard enough to leave bruises on her arms.

“ No!” She tried to yank her arm free but his grip was as strong as ever. Fighting the urge close her eyes, and let panic take over, she gave him a swift kick in the shins, moving away from him the moment his hold on her loosened. “ Leave me alone, Jonas.”

“ Or what?” Jonas, grimacing slightly as his leg throbbed, still found it in him to taunt her. “ You’ll get one of your team mates to beat me up? Ooh, I’m scared, Sammy.”

“ I can look after myself,” Sam retorted sharply.

“ You know, I’ve heard you say that before, too, Sam.” He started advancing towards her, only to stop when someone spoke up.

“ Sam?” Charlie spoke up nervously, biting on his bottom lip as he looked between her and the stranger who seemed to be threatening her. “ Dad says I have to go to bed now. Will you read me a story?”

Sam rewarded him with a soft and relieved smile. “ Of course I will.” She gave Jonas a cold glance. “ Captain.” She turned her back on him and walked quickly to where Charlie was holding out his hand. “ Lets go inside, it’s getting too cold out here.”

Charlie nodded and followed her into the house. “ Sam?” He stopped in the hallway just in front of his bedroom. “ Who was that man?”

“ No one for you to worry about,” Sam reassured him with a warm smile. “ I promise.”

For now, that satisfied Charlie’s curiosity. He let Sam put him to bed and snuggled up to her as they read one of his favourite stories, with Sam insisting he do some of the reading.

“ I think you’ve heard enough for one night,” she spoke up a little while later, seeing his eyelids begin to droop. Before he could protest that he wasn’t sleepy, like he did every time she read to him, she started talking again. “ It’s time to *really* go to sleep, I’ll even try and get everyone downstairs to be quiet so you won’t have any trouble.” She leaned in and kissed him softly on the forehead and went to straighten, only to be stopped when Charlie grabbed her hand.

He looked up at her with big brown puppy-dog eyes. “ Will you stay with me? Just for a little while?”

Sam smiled sweetly. “ If that’s what you want, Sweetheart. Your father will be up soon, though, won’t he? To say goodnight?”

“ When he can get away,” he nodded and gazed up at her pleadingly. “ Will you stay with me till then? Or till I fall asleep?”

“ Sure.” She rolled her eyes at being unable to deny his request. She shifted to get more comfortable, lying beside him with Charlie turning to face her.

He sighted softly and yawned, burying his head in her shoulder, cuddling up as closely to her as he could. Five, ten or maybe twenty minutes later – Sam didn’t know – but just as he was drifting off to sleep, Charlie murmured quietly to her. “ I love you, Sam.”

Tears stung her eyes and she gazed at him tenderly. “ I love you, too, Charlie.” She sighed heavily, and a few minutes later, Sam felt Charlie relax completely against her as his breathing became deep and even. Biting her lip, Sam tried to untangle herself from his embrace without waking him but wasn’t succeeding.

“ Need a hand?” Jack stood in the doorway, looking amused at her situation but keeping his voice soft and quiet. Sam nodded slightly, not daring to speak and risk waking Charlie.

Grinning, Jack moved over to the bed and gently helped untangle the two of them, easing Sam to her feet without disturbing his son. She gave him a quick smile of thanks and walked over to the door, out into the hallway, giving him a moment alone with Charlie.

Out in the hallway, Sam leaned against the wall and closed her eyes with a sign. She was too close, way too close, to her commanding officer and his son. And the more time she spent with either of them, the closer she got, which meant the harder it would be to walk away.

“ You seem pretty close to Colonel O’Neill and his son,” Jonas, once again, cut into her thoughts.

Opening her eyes and stifling a groan, Sam saw he was only a few feet away – too close, her mind kept repeating. Casting a self-conscious look over her shoulder at the open door she’d just come from, she walked purposely away from it towards the stairs. “ Keep your voice down, Jonas. You’ll wake Charlie.”

“ And that would make it difficult for you to get some alone time with O’Neill?” His tone was accusing and a little menacing.

“ It’s not like that but you wouldn’t understand,” she retorted harshly.

“ Then explain it to me, explain why that kid is used to you being in his house. Explain why you tuck him in instead of his mother,” Jonas shot back at her, grabbing her arms to stop her from going downstairs to the party or back upstairs to the roof where he had found her. “ If you’re not screwing Daddy, why does his kid look at you like that?”

Trying to shake off his hand, Sam swallowed the anger and the panic welling up inside her as she knew from past experience neither would be very helpful when facing Jonas. “ That is none of your business!”

“ Isn’t it?” His voice was getting louder and she cringed visibly. “ What? You don’t want anyone to know you’re sleeping with the guy? Because they already know that! Or is it that you don’t want your precious Colonel to find out about us?”

“ There is no *us* and I am *not* sleeping with Colonel O’Neill. Even if I was, it would be none of your business because you and I are through. We stopped being an ‘us’ a long time ago, deal with it.” Sam’s voice was low and dangerous. If Jonas had any sense, he would have backed off. Not only because of her tone, because of the think layer of panic beneath it – panic Jack could detect as he stood watching the scene after coming out of his son’s bedroom. Closing the door quietly behind him, he watched through narrowed eyes as the man he knew as Captain Hanson continued to harass his Captain.

“ We’ll stop being an ‘us’ when I say so,” Jonas spat out, tightening his grip on her arm so much that she gave an involuntary exclamation of pain. “ And I haven’t said so. You left me, I didn’t let you leave.”

“ And that’s the problem, Jonas,” Sam muttered, trying even harder to pull herself free. “ You have to learn to let go.”

“ Speaking of problems and leaving,” Jack decided to speak up. He sauntered over to them, glaring at Jonas as he did so. “ I think it’s time you left, Hanson. I’d tell you to sober up but you don’t seem to be drunk. Which makes harassing my second-in-command and one of your own colleagues even more dangerous.”

Jonas let go of Sam’s arm and abruptly pushed her out of the way, catching her unawares as she was trying to avoid Jack’s gaze. Tensing, the two men faced each other. “ Is that a threat? From the infamous Colonel O’Neill? I thought you were through with threatening men, Sam?” Jonas grinned an all-knowing, self-assured grin Jack was tempted to wipe off his smug face with his fists. “ Guess the grapevine was right .. What would General Hammond think, I wonder?”

“ The General would be interested to know you’re harassing and threatening one of his officers,” Jack answered calmly. “ And I don’t think he’d pay attention to the grapevine just because you’re dumb enough to believe it.”

“ Dumb?” Jonas took one menacing step closer. “ *I’m* dumb but *you’re* the one sleeping with a bitch who’s with you out of pity. Trust me, in a few weeks when some other wounded soul comes along with something for her to fix, she’ll ditch you in a second and move on. She’s a whore, Colonel. I’d have thought you were smart enough to see that.” Jonas turned his attention to Sam, missing the flash of outrage in Jack’s otherwise calm demeanour. “ Why are you with this loser, Sammy? After a promotion or an easy time?” Jonas smirked. “ Or are ya just easy? ’Cause if you are, we could work --”

A startled cry escaped Jonas’s lips as Jack grabbed him and roughly pushed him against the nearest wall, fighting temptation to push him down the stairs and be done with it. His expression now matched his eyes, his anger clearly on display. Sparks were practically leaping from his eyes and Sam felt herself grow a little wary, having never seen the Colonel this worked up or angry. “ Don’t you *ever* talk about Sam like that, unless you want to make your life at the SGC very uncomfortable. *Very* uncomfortable. Understand?”

The only reply Jonas gave was a red-faced nod and a few short gasps, being unable to speak with Jack holding him round the neck. After letting him sweat and panic, Jack eased his hold but refused to relinquish him completely.

“ Now I suggest you leave, before I really lose my temper,” Jack gave Jonas an insincere smile. “ And if I *ever* hear you talking about Sam or anyone else like that again..” The threat was left unspoken.

As soon as he was free to leave, he did. Sam had never seen Jonas move as quickly as he did, although she couldn’t miss the look he threw at them over his shoulder. It was one she’d seen many times, one she’d come to dread. The one that told her he wasn’t giving up - not that easily, and that he would somehow get her back.

“ It’s not over,” Sam spoke before Jack could. “ He won’t give up, that’s not Jonas’s style.”

“ Are you okay?” Either he wasn’t worried or he hadn’t heard her. Jack was looking at her with concerned eyes, and it was only then she realised she was cradling her arm close to her chest.

“ Fine,” she nodded. “ I’m fine.” She didn’t look or sound convincing so Jack carefully pried her arm away from her. “ Sir, I’m fine,” she protested.

Before he could say anything, Daniel came up the stairs, a frown creasing his forehead. His frown deepened when he saw his friend’s defensive and concerned positions. “ Guys? Everything okay?”

“ Yes.” “ No.” Sam and Jack spoke at the same time. Sam refused to meet her friend’s eyes so Jack took charge. “ We need some ice, looks like Sam’s elbow and wrist are sprained as well as bruised.”

“ Uh, okay,” Daniel nodded and turned to go back downstairs. He stopped suddenly and turned to face them. “ Did Captain Hanson come from up here?”

Jack nodded. “ How’d you know?”

“ He looked.. flushed. He started saying some things about you and Sam. Unpleasant things. Ferretti, Teal’c and a few others showed him and his friends the door,” Daniel answered with a shrug before disappearing back the way he’d come to get the ice.

“ Nasty piece of work,” Jack murmured as he led a reluctant Sam to the spare bedroom. As she sat on the bed, he turned the lamp on the bedside table on and closed the curtains, shutting out the outside world for the time being. Once that was done, he sat next to her and took her hand gently in his. “ Sam?”

“ I’m fine,” she answered softly, refusing to look him in the eye.

He gave her a small smile. “ Nice to know but I didn’t ask. I was going to ask you to look at me.” He touched her cheek and she instinctively, against her better judgement, leaned into his palm as the first tear rolled down her cheek.

“ I’m sorry,” she murmured. “ I.. He..” She couldn’t finish, he opened his arms and she willingly went into them, crying softly.

“ Shh..” Jack rocked her in the say way he would rock Charlie, sensing her struggle to stay in control, to appear the perfect soldier. “ We can talk later. Just let it out now, let it all out.”

“ You sound like some weird hypnotist-psychologist, Jack,” she joked through her tears, making him grin.

He dropped a soft kiss on her forehead and continued holding her as she held onto him, the tears still coming in spite of her joking. Ten minutes later when Daniel tracked them down with the ice – a packet of frozen peas – he was still holding her. Looking decidedly worried, Daniel handed Jack the ice and gave him a questioning glance.

“ We’re fine, Danny,” Jack replied quietly. “ Thanks.”

“ Party’s winding down so I’ll take Teal’c back to base if you don’t need me,” Daniel told them, concern lacing his words despite Jack’s reassuring. Sam calmed down a little and pulled away slightly, beginning to compose herself.

“ Okay,” Jack nodded distractedly, trying to put the ice against Sam’s arm even as she winced away from it. Daniel nodded and walked towards the door, stopping only when she spoke up.

“ Daniel? Thank you.” She gave him the most genuine smile she could manage and he nodded in acknowledgement, giving her a warm and relieved smile as he left.

The room lapsed into a calm silence. Jack held the ice against her arm as Sam sat looking down at it, detached as though it wasn’t anything to do with her.

“ So.” He tried to start a conversation to get her mind off her arm that was sure to be hurting. “ You never mentioned you knew Captain Hanson.”

“ I thought it was in the past,” she murmured, still wincing. “ And I hoped it would stay there.”

“ I have to say, although the guy seemed okay at the briefing when I met him, he doesn’t seem like your type.” He took her hand in his, watching as their fingers entwined. “ You don’t have to talk to me about it if you don’t want to.” If you don’t trust me was the unspoken statement.

“ I do trust you, Jack. And I want to tell you,” she reassured him quickly, giving him a tired smile. “ I’m just so tired. Can we talk about this later? Tomorrow? I should be getting home..”

“ You’re not going home,” he told her firmly, and decisively. “ Not at this time of night, not when you’re hurt and definitely not when that creep is somewhere near-by.”

She stifled a yawn with the back of her good hand. “ If I know Jonas, he’ll be watching the house, waiting for me to leave. If I don’t go, everyone will know by tomorrow.”

“ You’re staying and that’s final,” he answered sternly, using a combination of his parenting voice with his command voice. “ Do I have to make it an order?”

“ Haven’t you already made it an order?” She asked dryly, raising an eyebrow.

“ See? You’re smart, you catch on quick,” Jack rewarded her sarcasm with a charming grin. “ I’m gonna go and lock up and make sure that everyone’s actually gone..”

“ Shouldn’t you check everyone’s gone before you lock up?” She interrupted, grinning slyly. “ Unless you’re planning on making this into a slumber party?”

He gave her a look as if to say ‘watch it’ and continued. “ As I was saying, while I’m taking care of all of that, in whatever order I chose, you can use the bathroom and get washed up.” He stood up and a thought struck him. “ You’ll need something to sleep in. I’ll get you a t-shirt or something.”

Turning his back on her, he left the bedroom and disappeared into his own room. She heard the sounds of him rummaging round, opening and shutting drawers. When he returned a few minutes later, he was holding a pair of shorts and a t-shirt.

“ I know they’ll be huge on you but you’ll need something more comfortable to sleep in than your jeans,” Jack explained a little meekly. He handed them to her. “ They’re draw-string so they shouldn’t be too big.”

“ They’ll do fine,” Sam answered softly. “ Thank you.”

Jack ducked his head and went to leave the room, stopping in the doorway. He looked back at her with some emotion Sam couldn’t or wouldn’t understand shining in his eyes. Shrugging out of it, he walked out of the room, shutting the door behind him.

Smiling uncertainly, she quickly changed into the clothes he’d given her to sleep in. Once changed, she left the confines of her room to wash up, and get ready. She then went back to her room and turned off the lamp, the curtains to let the light of the full moon in. She had just got into bed and pulled the blankets up when there was a gentle knock on the bedroom door.

“ Sam? You decent?” Jack called out through the door.

“ Yeah, come in,” she called back and the door opened. She smiled when Jack put his head round the door to check first before fully entering the room. He looked quizzically at the open curtains then back at her so she shrugged. “ I’m used to camping under the stars now. If I’m not in my apartment or on base, I like to be able to see the stars.

“ Sounds like a good enough reason to me.” He shrugged and walked over to the bed, cautiously sitting down and gazing at her tenderly. “ If you need anything, just call, okay? I’m just across the hall.”

“ I know,” Sam gave him a soft smile. “ Thank you.. Jack.”

“ You’re welcome.” Impulsively, he leaned down and kissed her gently on the forehead. Her eyes fluttered shut, opening when he pulled away and they smiled shyly at one another. “ Goodnight, Sam.”

“ ’Night, Jack.” She watched him leave again before turning onto her side and curling up, closing her eyes and drifting off to sleep.

~*~

Waking with a start, Jack lay still, listening intently for what had woken him. He frowned on hearing a door open and decided to investigate. He opened his bedroom door just as Charlie raised his hand to knock. Smiling slightly, Jack raised an eyebrow in a silent question.

“ I can hear crying,” Charlie whispered worriedly.

The frown reappeared on Jack’s face. Listening again, he heard the sounds of muffled whimpering – coming from the spare room where Sam was. Biting his lip, he put a gentle hand on his son’s shoulder. “ Go back to bed, I’ll make sure Sam’s okay.”

Charlie shook his head. “ I wanna go, too.”

Jack stared to protest but sighed, seeing the stubborn determination on his son’s face that he himself wore on many occasions. Arguing would be pointless, and he wanted to check on Sam. “ Okay,” he nodded.

Quietly, the two moved across the hall to the spare room. Jack knocked softly on the door but there was no reply so he opened it. Without waiting for his father, Charlie went straight to the bed, peering cautiously at Sam. Jack went to stand on the other side of the bed and realised Sam was still asleep. “ Daddy,” Charlie whispered, pulling back a little in alarm. “ She’s still crying.”

“ No,” the murmur came from Sam. Her eyes were still closed and she was still sleeping, albeit fit-fully. She tossed and turned, her brow furrowed. Jack was willing to bet Jonas featured in her dreams. “ Please, no.. No!”

“ Shh.” Jack knelt on the bed beside her sleeping form and put a soothing hand on her shoulder. “ It’s okay, Sam. I’m here.”

She whimpered again and continued tossing and turning, tears running down her face even though she was still asleep. Charlie climbed up on the bed, concerned determination written all over his face, and lay down beside her, putting his arms around her in a hug. She stilled a little but still whimpered from the pit of her throat. Jack followed his son’s lead, with a little less ease. He wrapped his arms around her, gently pulling her into his arms so he was spooned up against her back.

“ It’s okay, Angel,” Jack murmured softly as she calmed down, the term of endearment slipping easily from his lips. “ Nothing’s gonna hurt you now.”

Charlie fell asleep, snuggled up safely in Sam’s arms. A short time later, Jack also drifted off, holding his son and his Captain close in his embrace.

~*~

Part Six

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For the first time in a long time, Sam woke up feeling warm and secure. Before she opened her eyes, she knew she wasn’t alone. She felt a warm body wrapped round her from behind, arms around her waist and legs entwined with hers but she also felt a smaller warm body curled up in front of her. Opening her eyes, she found herself gazing into Charlie’s sleepy but concerned eyes.

“ Hey,” she greeted him quietly with a smile.

“ Hi,” Charlie murmured back. He looked over her shoulder at his still sleeping father, who had buried his face in the crook of her neck and smiled wider. “ Daddy’s still asleep.”

“ Yeah, he is.” She tried to ignore Jack’s warm breath on her shoulder and concentrated on her conversation with Charlie. “ But it’s morning so he’ll probably be awake sometime soon.” There was a small pause. “ Why are you two in here, anyway?”

“ You were crying,” he answered sombrely. “ We came to see if you were okay.”

“ Oh.” Sam bit her lip and tired to remember what she’d been dreaming about. Shaking herself mentally, she noticed the expression on Charlie’s face. “ Why are you looking at me like that?”

“ Like what?” Charlie prompted nervously.

“ Like you’re afraid,” Sam answered softly.

The little boy shrugged and sat up, looking down at his hands. “ Sara never let me go to bed with her and Daddy. Daddy had to come into my room and set up the camp bed if I was scared.”

“ Oh, Sweetheart.” Sam closed her eyes momentarily, fighting the sting of tears. When she opened them, she found he was still looking at her as though he might have to make a quick get-away. Smiling encouragingly, she opened her arms to him and he moved into them immediately.

“ Are you mad at me?” He asked in a small voice.

“ Of course I’m not mad at you,” she told him sincerely. “ I think it’s sweet you were concerned enough about me to come in here. And if I ever stay over again and you’re scared or upset or you just don’t want to be alone, you can come in, okay?” She gave him a small smile. “ But you won’t need to, you know your Dad would be more than happy to have you with him if you wanted.”

“ I know,” Charlie grinned up at her. “ I hope you do stay over again.”

“ That’s very sweet of you,” she smiled again. “ You gonna help me wake your Dad?”

“ In a little while,” Charlie mumbled, his head resting just below her shoulder. “ I’m sleepy.”

Sam resigned herself – not very reluctantly – to the fact she wasn’t going to be getting up anytime soon and closed her eyes, relaxing against Jack as she held his son in her arms. She was half asleep when she felt Charlie wiggling out of her arms. “ Where you going?” She asked with a yawn, opening one eye.

He beamed at her boyishly. “ The cartoons are on!”

She smiled in spite of herself as he left the room excitedly. Then she realised she was now alone in bed with Colonel O’Neill – not a very good situation to be in the day after deciding to put some distance between them. Sighing softly, she forced the thought of how nice it felt to be in his arms out of her mind and tried to half-heartedly disentangle herself from his embrace without waking him. It proved useless, every time she started making progress and went to pull away, Jack would protest in his sleep, giving a small growl of disapproval and pulling her back against him where his sleep-addled brain thought she belonged.

After ten minutes of trying, Sam was beginning to struggle to keep her eyes open so she gave up, closing her eyes in defeat. She was just going to have to wait until he woke up, although it surprised her he had slept through her conversation with Charlie and her attempts to get free since he was usually a very light sleeper when they were off-planet.

With another sigh, she settled into his arms, allowing him to hold her as closely as he wanted, as she tried to think of what to say when he woke up, falling asleep again in the process.

~*~

There was a giggle and the sound of a door shutting. Jack stirred, waking slowly from one of the best sleeps he had had in along time, ever since before his spell in an Iraq prison. He felt something warm and soft in his arms and opened one eye, wondering what was tickling his nose. The answer was blond and silky, blond and silky hair that belonged to his second-in-command.

An eyebrow rose when he realised the somewhat compromising position they were in. His arms were wound tightly around her, a hand resting possessively on her stomach. Their legs were tangled up and she had her hands resting atop of his, her body turned ever so slightly into the embrace. He listened carefully to the sound of her breathing, sighing with relief when he found it to be deep and regular – she was either definitely asleep or very, *very* good at pretending to be.

He knew he should move. He knew he should let her go and try to get up without waking her in order to save them both – mainly himself – more embarrassment when she woke. Jack knew all that but his arms and legs were just not getting the message.

“ Oh, for crying out loud,” he muttered to himself, a little frustrated – and panicked – that he couldn’t seem to pull away.

“ Good morning to you, too,” Sam spoke wryly with a voice matching his in early-morning huskiness. “ Is that how you usually greet people in the morning? On Earth, anyway?”

“ Shit, Sam, I’m sorry,” Jack mumbled close to her ear, still trying to pull away. He gave her an embarrassed chuckle, trying not to acknowledge the shiver she gave in reply. “ I don’t think I’m entirely awake yet.”

“ Uh-huh.” She didn’t sound convinced and he couldn’t blame her, all things considered – certain parts of him were undeniably awake.

“ No, really. My body is not doing what me mind is telling it to do,” Jack apologised again. He managed to shift away a little, loosening the contact but still keeping his arms wrapped around her, unwilling to relinquish that contact just yet. “ Sorry. About how I got here..”

“ It’s okay,” she giggled a little. “ Charlie explained earlier. Before cartoon time took him away.”

“ I wondered where he’d disappeared too.. Hey!” His brow furrowed and he pulled away just enough to look at her. “ You were awake?”

“ About an hour or so ago,” she answered, blushing prettily. “ I tried to.. untangle myself but it wasn’t happening. I guess I fell asleep again.”

“ Guess so,” he nodded, showing her he believed her. She turned to completely face him, pulling away just enough to do so but remaining within the shelter of his arms, both of them reluctant for their embrace to end. “ So.” He reached one hand up to tenderly sooth a stray strand of hair from her face before draping his arm back over her waist, his hand resting on the small of her back. “ What were you dreaming of that upset you so much?”

Sam sighed and shrugged. “ I don’t know. It could have been about Jonas, about my mother, about one of our missions gone badly.. I don’t remember. It’s kind of spooky, though.” She forced a smile. “ I didn’t even know I‘d been crying till Charlie told me. For all I know, it’s a regular occurrence.”

“ I hope not,” he told her sincerely.

“ Me neither,” she gave him a small smile. There was another pause, neither feeling the need to fill the silence with idle small talk. Her mind wandered and a slight frown appeared on her face as she remembered what Charlie had said to her earlier. It was still upsetting her.

Jack gave her a concerned look, moving a little closer and nudging her with his shoulder. “ Sam? What is it?”

“ Nothing,” she gave him a weak smile that he saw straight through immediately. At his disbelieving stare, she sighed heavily. “ Charlie said something before.. It’s just getting to me.”

His concern grew, evident in his eyes. “ What? I know he’d never say anything to upset you deliberately.”

“ No, I know that,” Sam gave him a small smile. “ I can’t imagine Charlie ever meaning to hurt someone.” The smile disappeared, replaced by sadness in her eyes and she bit her bottom lip. “ When I woke up, he seemed afraid, like I was going to shout at him or something. So I asked him what was wrong.. ”

He sighed and gave her a knowing look. “ And he told you how Sara wouldn’t let him share a bed with her. If he wanted some company, we’d set the camp bed up in his room.”

She nodded in confirmation. “ That’s exactly what he said. And what bothers me is that he was afraid I’d do the same thing.”

“ He won’t be now,” Jack assured her. “ He knows you and Sara are completely different people. He knows you love him.” He chuckled self-depreciatively. “ Well, I never thought I’d be talking about my soon-to-be ex-wife whilst in bed with you.”

Sam laughed and gave him a mischievous smile. “ I don’t suppose talking about your wife is something you thought you’d be doing in bed with any woman. Kinda unconventional.”

“ Yep, kinda.” He smirked. “ But to be honest, there’s only one woman I thought I’d ever be talking to about Sara, and that’s the sole woman I imagined ever sharing a bed with.”

There was another long, charged silence. Sam cleared her throat and looked away. “ I think it’s time to get up. Charlie will be wondering where we are.” Before he could stop her, Sam withdrew completely and got out of the bed, standing and smoothing down her t-shirt and shorts. “Is it okay if I use your shower?”

“ Sure.” Jack turned over onto his stomach and buried his head into her pillow, inhaling her scent. “ Sam, listen..” He lifted his head just enough to look at her. “ Sit down for a moment, okay?”

“ Colonel..” She bit her lip again, – something he noticed she did a lot when she was nervous, - trying to put some distance between them by using his rank. “ I..”

“ Sit. Please,” he added, hoping to make the request sound less like an order. Sighing and going against her better judgement, she sat on the edge of the bed and looked at him expectantly.

“ Sam,” he began, moving to rest his hand over hers that were resting on her knee. “ I want you to understand something about Sara and Charlie’s relationship. Sara never wanted children. It was a normal pregnancy in every way but Sara convinced herself it was more difficult than most. I knew we’d got married for the wrong reasons, we were too young to know what love was, we only got married because she was pregnant – not with Charlie, with another child she lost early on. I knew when we talked about trying for another child and Sara told me she hadn’t wanted the one she was carrying and she certainly didn’t want anymore. Because I made it clear I wanted children, and I guess I didn’t hide that fact I married her because of the baby as well as I could have, Sara got pregnant.” He lowered his gaze guiltily. “ As soon as Charlie was born, she shut him out completely, He’s never know what it was like to have a real Mom, not until you came into our lives. And because he was never wanted and because she didn’t try to hide it from him, all of our relationships were strained.”

“ Except yours and Charlie’s,” Sam corrected softly. He looked up to find tears shimmering in her eyes. “ Oh, Jack. It must have been so hard for you.”

“ Hey,” he sat up and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, relishing the contact. “ I don’t want you to dwell on it. I just want you to understand why Charlie and Sara were never close.”

“ I do understand,” she answered. Relaxing with relief, Jack lay back down, resting his head on her knee. Pleasantly surprising him, Sam unthinkingly ran her fingers through his hair. “ But I also *think* I know I understand how you must have felt. Guilt being amongst all the other feelings.”

“ Yeah,” he admitted softly. He was a little surprised she had picked up on it when it seemed no one else had. He had felt guilty, he still did. He felt as though he’d pressurised Sara into getting pregnant, he felt responsible for her feelings towards Charlie and he felt guilty for wanting a child so much that he was responsible for bringing Charlie into such a strained and potentially painful relationship.

The two stayed on the bed for quite a while. When Sam eventually moved, Jack was surprised to realise his cheeks were damp. He’d been crying and he hadn’t even realised it. And, for once, he didn’t even feel too embarrassed about having broken down in front of someone; with Sam, he wasn’t afraid to let all of his defences down. She knew he’d been crying, though. She gave him a softly encouraging smile and did something that surprised them both – leaning down to place a swift but gentle kiss on his lips before heading to the bathroom with her clothes, leaving him alone with his thoughts.

~*~

When Sam resurfaced from showering and dressing, she found Jack and Charlie sitting at the kitchen table, munching on fruit loops. For a few moments, she just stood and watched them with a smile gracing her features.

“ Find something amusing, Captain?” Jack’s voice took her by surprise, as she hadn’t seen him look up.

“ No, Sir,” she gave Charlie a warm smile when he looked up in shock, obviously having missed her arrival. “ Just thinking how true the saying like father, like son is in your case.”

“ I’d take that as a compliment, Charlie.” Jack finally looked up and smiled. “ Join us for breakfast?”

She eyed their half-eaten bowls of fruit loops and wrinkled her nose. “ I think I’ll pass.”

“ It’s he most important meal of the day,” Jack chided. “ I don’t think the General would be too pleased to hear you’re skipping meals. Neither would Doc. Fraiser,” he hinted.

Sam mock-glared at him and she found herself relenting – slightly. “ Okay, I’ll grab something at home.”

That caught Charlie’s attention and his head shot up, his spoon halting halfway in its journey to his mouth. “ You’re leaving?”

“ I have to go home and get changed,” she told him softly.

“ We’ll see her at the base,” Jack chimed in to reassure his son. He shared a smile with Sam as the stricken look on Charlie’s face faded. “ Won’t we, Sam?”

“ Absolutely,” she nodded. “ I’ll probably be there before you guys are.”

“ Promise?” Charlie looked at her through big, round hopeful eyes.

“ Promise.” She answered solemnly. The little boy grinned and went back to spooning fruit loops into this mouth.

Stifling a chuckle, Sam said her goodbyes and left the O’Neill household, after promising the Colonel she would call him if it looked like there was going to be any trouble from Jonas.

Jack watched her drive away from the doorway, giving a small wave when she looked up from backing off the driveway to see him still standing there. He watched until she was out of sight, before going back inside to where his son was just finishing his breakfast.

As was routine, Jack cleared the bowls away and started loading the dishwasher. Expecting his son to go and brush his teeth and get ready to go to leave for the SGC for what was his last week before his friend’s Mom took over babysitting for him, it was understandable that the Colonel was a little startled when a small voice at his elbow piped up.

“ I liked having Sam here last night,” Charlie told his father with a grin.

“ I know you did,” Jack returned the grin with one of his own and went back to tidying the kitchen.

“ You did, too,” Charlie stated. A mischievous look appeared on his face. “ I know something else, too, Daddy.”

“ Oh, really? And what’s that?” During the exchange, Charlie had been discreetly edging towards the kitchen door.

“ I know I love Sam..” His grin grew impossibly wide and cheeky. “ And you do, too.”

Jack spun round to face his son so quickly he almost gave himself whiplash. But Charlie didn’t see the look of shock and mild-panic on his father’s face as he wasn’t there.

Slowly, Jack turned back to what he was doing, a small smile tugging at the corner of his mouth as he heard a childish giggle from upstairs. From the mouths of babes, indeed.

~*~

The next few weeks progressed normally – or as normally as they could with Jack aware of his feelings and trying to make sure no one else was. Although everyone but their small cluster of friends acted oblivious for the sake of the Colonel’s pride and because of regulations, the only person who was truly unaware was Sam.

There as no way she could have known because he acted exactly the same around her as he always had – he was still her commanding officer and gave her orders she had to follow, whether she agreed with them or not. They’d always, from the very beginning, had a relationship that was friendlier than most CO’s had with their subordinates, they’d always joked and flirted and that hadn’t changed at all. The only thing that had changed was that the Colonel’s attitude in general improved. He was still sarcastic, a little jaded at times, but it took a lot more to get him angry these days. Sam had noticed that, but she put down to the fact he was happier at home, with his son; she never thought it was down to her.

There were no repeats of what had occurred on the evening of the housewarming party. Jonas stayed well away, having clearly got the message the whole base would know if something happened to Sam. When a mission came up that would get him away from base for a few weeks came up, he took it, leading SG-9 to another planet – about as far away as he could get from the glares and warning looks he was getting from most of the people on base, not to mention one big, scary looking Jaffa.

There were also no ‘private’ slumber parties. She stayed at the O’Neill household on a few more occasions, but either Teal’c and Daniel or Kawalsky or all three – at the insistence of Jack, supervised her over-night stays although she was never told that. On one occasion, Janet acted as chaperone, staying in the spare room with Sam after a long night of beating the men at poker, giggling and whispering over the secret methods of distraction they used to win more than a couple of hands.

Although Sam had no idea how his feelings had grown and changed, Jack was. At first, he found it easy to brush away and deny. But ever since Charlie had made it clear that he knew, those feelings were forever on Jack’s mind.

Everything had changed so quickly. Yes, he had been attracted to her from the beginning but he’d been married then and his marriage had been the safety net keeping his feelings in check. Two days ago, he had got word the Sara had signed the divorce papers and despite her lawyers making it clear that she wasn’t giving up so easily, it meant there were only regulations holding him back and he had never been a big follower of those.

If he didn’t feel so strongly for her and if he didn’t care that breaking regulations would make a black mark on her currently spotless record.. Well, Jack wasn’t sure he would be able to restrain himself from telling her outright how he felt and acting on it.

It was getting harder and harder to do, though. Since Charlie was no longer on base every day, he demanded that he still see Sam whenever he could. That meant she spent a lot of time off-duty with him and his father, which meant they all got closer. Jack had noticed his son was beginning to grow just as dependant on Sam as he was on him. The Colonel knew he should be concerned or worried by this attachment but he wasn’t. If anything, he was happy – relieved – that Charlie had so easily accepted Sam into his life.

Despite all this, it got even harder to hide his feelings from Sam after SG-1 was sent to find SG-9. Stargate Command received SG-9’s signal but no one came through the gate. Weeks had gone by with no contact so General Hammond ordered SG-1 to the planet to find them.

Only one member of SG-9 made it back alive, Lt. Connor was suffering from dehydration and sunstroke but his team mates had all died on the planet. One died at the hands of their team-leader, another died following orders. Jonas himself was killed by the natives he had almost worked to death and had deceived into believing he was their God.

His death affected Sam more than she cared to admit. Jack had listened to her explain her relationship with Jonas to Daniel, he had watched her go against his orders and knew she had tried to talk Jonas out of his delusional state and failed. If he was honest with himself, he was a little bit jealous at the concern she displayed for her former fiancé.

That jealously faded when he was found trying to rescue Connor and was taken to where Jonas was keeping her. As soon as she saw him, she stopped what she was doing and he saw the flash of relief in her eyes and the guilt that she had let him down. Her relief was short-lived, however, as Jonas threatened to kill them if Sam couldn’t get the Goa’uld shield device to work. Jack saw the panic and torn expression on her face and gave her the okay to turn it on.

Then Jonas had tried to kill both Jack and Connor and she’d objected but been able to do anything. Luckily, Daniel, Teal’c and Jamala, the native they had befriended, had arrived and the conflict was brought to an end. Sam had stopped Jonas from shooting Jack, kicking the gun from his hand and earning a slap for her troubles. Jack had never felt as angry as he did at the moment, watching Jonas strike Sam and being unable to do anything about it. That anger was replaced by something even more intense – horror – when Jonas roughly pulled Sam to her feet, stating that if he was going to die, he was taking her with him.

There was no way Jack was going to let that happen. He couldn’t stand the thought of losing her or of having to tell his son that she was gone. So he got in the way, knocking both Sam and Jonas down, allowing the angry natives to grab their former leader and throw him through the active stargate to his death.

The expression on Sam’s face was one Jack missed but one Daniel had described in great detail, the archaeologist certain he wouldn’t be able to forget it for a long time. She was devastated and defeated, as if there was something she could have done to make a difference. She was sombre as they tied up all the loose ends and left, unable to manage even the smallest of smiles when Jack had reassured her there was nothing she could have done to save Jonas, nothing she could have done to stop him.

It wasn’t until they were back on base that Jonas’s death started to take its toll on her. The sympathetic looks and the whispers that the SGC was better off without him were too much. Hiding in her lab or quarters wasn’t working, either. Every five minutes or so, someone would come and check she as okay and it was beginning to get to her. That was why she’d taken to hiding in the locker room, having put the ‘women only’ sign up outside.

Sam sat on the floor in front of her locker, leaning her head against the cool metal and closing her eyes tightly. It hadn’t completely sunk in yet. Jonas was dead. Her Jonas, the man she was at one time going to marry and spend the rest of her life with. Gone forever, never to see or speak or taunt her again. The minutes passed and turned into an hour but still no tears came. It struck her as ironic that she could cry for him when he was still alive but not when he was dead.

“ Sam? You in there? ” The soft question was followed by a gentle knock. The door inched open and Daniel’s head appeared round it just as she opened her eyes. “ If you want to be alone..”

“ Being alone isn’t helping,” she admitted with a sigh.

“ So it’s okay for me to come in? There’s no one else who’d object?” He glanced round nervously and a ghost of a smile flickered on her face for one brief moment.

She motioned with her hand. “ There’s no one but me in here, Daniel. You’re safe.”

“ Good, I’d hate to ruin my reputation,” Daniel joked lamely, stepping fully into the room and shutting the door behind him. He sat on the bench opposite her, feeling awkward. “ So.”

“ So?” Sam looked up at him blankly.

“ Um.. General Hammond asked me to find you,” he responded nervously. “ It’s about Captain Hanson.”

She closed her eyes again. “ What about him?”

“ You’re.. ah.. You’re down as his next-of-kin. The General asked me to help you pack his things. If you don’t want to, though, the others said they would.” He moved down to the floor and sat beside her.

“ Out of everyone on base who could have told me, how’d you get the job?” She grimaced a little. “ Who’d you annoy?”

“ No one,” Daniel smiled a little. “ I.. uh.. I volunteered. I thought I’d be more.. tactful that someone else. Namely Jack and Teal’c, who were the other two Hammond asked.”

“ Thank you,” she gave him a weak smile. “ I think I can empty his locker but someone else’ll have to do his quarters and home. I can’t do that, it’s too personal.”

He nodded. “ I understand. You want me to stay?”

“ Yeah, if you don’t mind.” She stood and helped her friend to his feet. “ I really do appreciate this, Daniel. And thank you, for not being judgemental or pitying.”

“ I’m here for you, always. Like you have been for me.” Daniel grinned and gave her a quick hug before the two started on their task.

Jonas’s locker was full of the usual equipment and clothing. It wasn’t until everything Air Force has been removed that they found any personal items. A couple of photographs and a black velvet box were all that was left. Sam took them and slowly sat down on the bench, settling the box down beside her as she gazed at the photographs. Daniel sat down beside her, wrapping a comforting arm around her shoulders.

They sat in silence for a few moments. He looked at the photo’s she clasped in her shaking hand, surprised to fins she was in every one of them. The first two were of her and Jonas, the third was of her talking to someone else, unaware the picture was being taken. In all three of them, Sam had longer hair and was out of uniform, looking happy with a sadness in her eyes Daniel could see clearly and didn’t like.

Unsure of what to say, he chose to say nothing. He watched a sole tear work its way down her cheek and she rested her head on his shoulder. After a few hesitant moments, Sam reached for the velvet box. She opened it cautiously, taking a deep breath that came out as a shudder when she saw the emerald and diamond ring lying on the satin inside. Snapping the lid shut, two more tears escaped from her eyes and she dropped the box as though it had burnt her, watching it fall to her ground with a noisy clatter. She bit her bottom lip and pulled away from Daniel, standing and pacing angrily.

“ Damn him,” Sam muttered. “ It’s so typical of him to do this. Damn him.”

Daniel watched without comment as she paced and cursed, evidently trying to keep from crying. When she started taking her frustration out on the lockers, he intervened, risking life and limb by standing and pulling her into his arms.

For a few seconds she resisted but gave in just as she was gaining ground. He held her tightly as she sobbed like he never imagined possible, unable to do anything to ease her suffering but hold her.

~*~

Part Seven

~*~

After much debate, it was decided Sam should stay on base – at least until she woke up. She and Daniel had moved to her quarters where she had cried herself to sleep in his arms.

He had eased himself from her embrace and had gone in search of their friends, finding them waiting for him in the infirmary where Janet and Kawalsky were being brought up to date with what had gone on off-world. Janet was the first to notice his arrival and stood, effectively brining the conversation to a halt

“ Hey,” Janet gave the ashen-faced archaeologist a welcoming smile. “ How is she?”

Daniel shook his head and sat down on one of the beds, his troubled expression setting them all on edge. It was a few moments before he trusted himself to speak. “ I never thought I’d ever see her like that. She was okay until we cleaned out his locker.” He reached into this pockets and pulled out the photographs and jewellery box. “ Then we found these.” He watched them pass the photographs round, waited until Jack opened the box before explaining. “ That was her engagement ring from Captain Hanson.”

“ Jesus.” Jack flipped the lid shut with a loud bang, making Janet jump. “ Even though he’s dead, he still manages to hurt her.”

Janet took the box from him, frowning deeply. “ A physical injury would heal quicker than the blow he dealt her by bringing this here.” She passed the box back to Daniel, glaring at it as though the ring itself had hurt Sam.“ Where is Sam now?”

“ Sleeping, in her quarters,” Daniel answered tiredly. “ She’s exhausted, completely and utterly exhausted. I don’t think she’ll wake up anytime soon and even when she does, she isn’t going to feel any better.”

“ If she’s sleeping, we should let her stay asleep so.. She stays on base,” Jack spoke up. “ Someone should stay with her.”

“ I will,” Daniel volunteered. “ I’ve come this far, might as well go the full distance. Besides,” he added on seeing the look of uncertainty cross over Jack’s face. “ Charlie needs you. Janet and Kawalsky have been here for over eighteen hours with no sleep and Teal’c needs to put himself in Kel'No'Reem.”

Jack still looked unconvinced but he nodded. “ Keep me in the picture, though? If anything happens..”

“ You’ll be the first to know,” Daniel promised. “ What are you going to tell Charlie? He’ll worry when she doesn’t drop by to say hello.”

“ I haven’t thought of that yet,” Jack admitted with a sigh.

“ I’ll come with you,” Kawalsky spoke up for the first time. “ We can tell him someone she knew died on a mission and she needs some time. Then we can have a guy’s night to take his mind off it.”

“ Sounds like a plan,” Jack nodded. “ Daniel.. Look after her, okay?”

Daniel nodded and watched as Jack left with Kawalsky, the of them looking concerned as the weeks events took it’s toll on Jack. Janet put her coat on and they walked out of the eerily quiet infirmary. Teal’c headed straight for his quarters after bidding them goodnight, looking slightly troubled and leaving Daniel to walk Janet to her car.

“ Get some sleep, Dr. Jackson. That’s an order,” she told him only half-jokingly as she climbed into her car. “ Take care of Sam, too. And call me if either of you need anything.”

“ I will,” he stifled a yawn and gave her the lopsided grin he was well known for amongst the infirmary nurses. “ Take your own advice and get some sleep, too.”

She smiled and nodded, driving off as he turned to go back into the mountain. Daniel turned back to give her a quick wave as she drove out of sight before heading back to Sam’s side.

She was still sleeping when he got there so he pulled the chair in the corner of the room up to the bed and sat down, reaching out so he could cover her hand with his, watching her sleep for a while before the events caught up to him and he drifted off.

~*~

Sam’s mood remained the same until the funeral had passed. Jonas’s family, who had never been into the military way of life, opted for a private burial instead of the one offered to them by the Air Force. It took a lot of convincing to get Sam to attend, but when she finally agreed to go, it was under the conditions that she went alone. This was met with protests from the close-knit group they’d become but she explained herself well. She told them she appreciated everything they’d done for her but she felt it was time to stand on her own two feet. Reluctantly, they all agreed, converging at Jack’s house as she left for the funeral.

“ She’s shutting us out,” Daniel commented as the five adults sat in the garden, watching Charlie play with some of his friends.

“ She’s military,” Janet corrected with a sigh.

“ And that means?” Daniel asked with a frown.

“ That means she has to be a soldier first and foremost, a woman with feelings later,” Janet answered softly. She noticed the confused expressions on her friend’s faces and rolled her eyes. “ Women talk about these kind of things, okay? Sam’s father is one hundred percent military. Before her mother died, his motto was ‘Carter’s don’t cry’ and he installed that in his children. Sam still follows that religiously, she told me the other day that her father would be ashamed of her if he saw how ‘weak’ - that’s her word, not mine – she’s been these past few weeks.”

Jack looked taken aback. “ How did you get that out of her? She’d never talk about herself so freely.”

“ Girl’s nights in,” Janet answered matter-of-factly. “ Vodka and tequila work wonders. Till the morning after.”

Kawalsky laughed at the expression on her face. “ We still haven’t introduced Teal’c to the wonders of Earth’s alcohol, have we? Apart from beer and Jack’s whiskey.”

“ We can remedy that,” Jack grinned slyly. “ Tequila would be fitting.”

“ How so, O’Neill?” Teal’c interjected curiously.

“ Because of the worm-thing,” Jack replied, sending Kawalsky into a fit of chuckles before joining in. Janet shook her head in disapproving amusement and moved the remaining bottles of beer beneath the chair she was sitting on.

“ Oh, yeah! The worm-thing! Why didn’t I think of that,” Daniel muttered sarcastically, unimpressed with the fact his friends were slightly drunk whilst Sam was going through the gruelling task of attending Jonas’s funeral. “ What they mean, Teal’c, is that tequila is the drink that often comes with a worm in it. Seems suitable for a person in your position if you happen to be Jack or Kawalsky.”

In reply, Teal’c titled his head and raised an eyebrow. Jack and Kawalsky calmed down and Daniel helped Janet hide the remainder of the alcohol. Quiet but friendly conversation followed, with all of their thoughts straying at one time to their mutual friend.

~*~

The brightly shining sun contradicted the moods of those attending the funeral. Sam recognised only a few officers present as being from the SGC amongst the small crowd that had gathered to say goodbye to Jonas. She was surprised to realise she knew most of the other people in attendance, most of them being people she knew from her time living in Washington DC or Jonas’s family. Out of Jonas’s family, all of whom she had met at some point during her engagement to him, she was surprised that most of them greeted her warmly.

“ Samantha, my dear,” Jonas’s grandmother was the first to approach her, enveloping her in a warm embrace. “ It’s wonderful to see you again, despite the circumstances.”

“ Christine,” Sam smiled and hugged the older woman back just as warmly. When they pulled apart, there were tears in her eyes. “ Oh, Chris, I’m so sorry..”

“ Hush,” Christine Hanson smiled reassuringly. “ You have nothing to be sorry about.” The woman laced her arm around Sam’s waist and led her over to the small group of familiar faces, mutual friends of Sam and Jonas interlaced with his family.

“ Everyone is touched by your being here. We all know what Jonas was like, my darling. He was ill, Samantha. He denied it, as did most of us, but he hasn’t been himself in a long time. It means so much to all of us that you came.”

Hugs and hello’s engulfed Sam as she joined the group, all but a cousin, an aunt and Jonas’s mother greeted her warmly. The other three gave her disapproving looks but she ignored them, concentrating instead on making it through the day.

The ceremony went off without a hitch. Tears were shed by most but not Sam, she had cried all the tears she had before flying out to DC. Still, she supported Christine as the older woman grieved and said goodbye to her grandson.

Much to Christine’s disappointment, Sam declined the invitation to go back to Jonas’s mothers house. She explained that she would prefer to catch a flight back to Colorado as soon as possible rather than delay her return. Christine claimed to understand and insisted on seeing the younger woman off at the airport.

“ Stay in touch,” Christine whispered as they embraced once more. “ I miss you now you’re no longer just a twenty minute drive away.”

“ I miss you, too. Maybe you can come visit me in Colorado sometime,” Sam suggested sincerely. As she pulled away, Sam reached into her coat pocket and brought out the engagement ring, still encased in its velvet box. “ I.. I found this in Jonas’s locker. You should have it.”

Christine looked at the box on Sam’s outstretched palm, instinctively aware of what was in it. Smiling fondly, her eyes suspiciously bright, she closed Sam’s fingers around it. “ I want you to have it, and I know Jonas would want you to have it, too.”

“ Christine.. It’s a family heirloom, I remember Jonas telling me..” Sam protested, shaking her head and trying to give the ring back.

“ You are my family, my darling. You told me when you left that your having ended things with Jonas wouldn’t end things between us,” Christine reminded her in her firm but soft manner. “ Are you going back on that?”

“ No, of course not!” Sam objected. “ I love you like you were my own grandmother, or even my mother, but I can’t accept this.”

Christine regarded her sternly. “ Either you take it now or you get it when I die. If you take it now, you’ll make an old woman happy.”

Rolling her eyes, Sam looked down at where their hands were clasped, with the box between them. “ I don’t know if I can accept it, Chris. Especially not now..”

“.. Now you’ve fallen in love with someone else,” Christine finished surprising the young Captain who wasn’t sure if the was what she was about to say. Christine smiled knowingly. “ My darling, you need to go now and you will take this ring. But we’ll talk in a few days, about everything.”

Sam nodded and smiled slightly. “ Okay. I love you, Chris.”

“I love you, too, my Samantha.” Christine hugged her warmly again before shooing her off through the gate. She watched the young woman until she went out of view. She smiled tenderly, as proud of Sam as anyone could be. “ Goodbye, my darling.”

~*~

It was late by the time Sam’s flight landed in Colorado. She headed straight for her car and was halfway home when she remembered she had agreed to stop by and see Jack and Charlie and the others, if they were still there.

Sighing deeply, she contemplated turning round and going to see them as planned, but she decided to just go home when she noticed the time. She decided that when she got him she would give them a call and talk to Charlie if he was still up.

Made weary by the day’s events and all the travelling she had done, Sam yawned as she unlocked her apartment door. Without turning on the lights in the living room, she headed for the kitchen to grab a beer and the half-eaten carton of ice cream stashed away at the back of the fridge. It didn’t make for a very healthy evening meal but Sam was past caring.

She kicked off her shoes and put the television on low, just to have something on in the background. Setting the beer on the coffee table, she reached for the phone and curled her legs underneath herself, dialling Jack’s number with one hand, holding the ice cream and a spoon with the other.

“ O’Neill.” Jack answered gruffly, a small smile playing on her lips at the sound of his voice. “ Hello?”

Shaken from her reverie, Sam spoke up. “ Hey. Is it too late to be calling?”

“ Sam? No, not at all!” Jack’s voice softened and she heard a muffled conversation in the background. “ Where are you? We were expecting you to come round.”

“ I know, I’m sorry. I was halfway home before my brain started working,” she apologised softly. “ I don’t think I’d make very good company, anyway.”

The first few notes of concern crept into his voice. “ You okay? You sound tired.”

“ I’m exhausted,” she admitted. “ It was a rough day. Other than that, though, I’m fine. I’ll be back at work tomorrow.”

“ You sure? Hammond gave ya the rest of the week off unless we desperately needed your help,” Jack reminded her.

“ I need to get on with my life so I’m sure,” she answered with a yawn.

“ Okay, I’ll see you tomorrow, then.” It was a statement, not a question. Sam listened to the background chatter as the conversation she was in came to a pause. After a while, Jack returned his attention to her. “ Charlie wants to talk to you before he goes to bed.” He passed the phone to his son, a little reluctantly.

“ Sam?” Charlie greeted her enthusiastically. “ Hi!”

“ Hi Sweetheart,” Sam smiled again. “ It’s way past your bedtime, young man. How’d you manage to stay up?”

“ Daddy said I could stay up till I talked to you,” Charlie answered happily, before growing serious. “ I miss you.”

“ You just saw me a few days ago,” she chuckled warmly. “ But I miss you, too. I promise I’ll see you soon, okay?”

“ Okay,” he brightened up again, yawning loudly. “ We could go to the park or the zoo or the movies, couldn’t we? Or ice skating or swimming?”

“ Anything you want,” she responded evenly. “ Just be sure to ask your Dad’s permission first.”

“ He won’t mind,” Charlie insisted. “ Oh, and you’ll be at my baseball match this weekend, won’t ya? Daddy said he’d talk to Uncle General Hammond.”

“ I’ll be there,” Sam promised, chuckling at the General’s new nickname and as Charlie yawned again. “ And I think it’s time for you to go to bed.”

“ Don’t wanna go to bed,” he pouted. She heard Jack say something and Charlie sighed dramatically. “ Daddy says you’re right and I should go to bed.”

“ Okay, sweet dreams, Charlie,” Sam smiled tenderly.

“ Sweet dreams back,” he murmured sleepily. “ Love you, Sam.”

“ Love you, too,” her smile widened slightly. “ Night.”

“ Nigh-night. Here’s Daddy.” He handed the phone back to his father and she heard the two exchange good nights.

Jack then spoke to her again, greeting her warmly, the grin in this voice evident. “ Hi, again.”

“ Shouldn’t you be making sure he actually does go to bed?” She asked in amusement.

“ He will,” Jack answered confidently. “ If not, he won’t get to have you watch him play on Saturday.”

Sam chuckled. “ That’s mean, Jack.”

“ But it works,” he responded slyly. “ So. Are you sure you’re okay?”

“ I’m fine, *really*,” she insisted, smiling at his concern. “ Are the others still there?”

He paused momentarily. “ Actually, no. They left about five minutes ago when you were talking to Charlie.”

“ Oh.” She bit her lip and sighed softly. “ Is that a hint that it’s past your bedtime and you want to get rid of me?”

“ No,” he responded quickly. “ I’m not sleepy. They were only here because they thought you’d be here. They don’t like me, you know. They just pretend to because they think you do.”

Sam giggled before she cold stop herself. She could hear the playfulness in his voice and knew it could be trouble. “ Cute, very cute but absolutely not true. Most of them were your friends before they were mine.”

“ Good point,” he grinned again, she could hear it in his voice. “ But you didn’t say what I was hoping for.”

“ Oh? And what was that?” She stretched out on the couch, reaching to pull the blanket from the back of the couch and wrapped it round her. Suddenly, she was feeling very tired.

“ That you like me, and that they’re right in thinking you do,” he murmured. She heard him move around and stifled a yawn.

“ They’re right, I like you,” she admitted softly. “ More than I should,” she murmured sleepily, her eyelids drooping.

“ Sam?” Jack stopped moving round, the only sound she could hear on the other end of the line was his soft breathing. “ Sam? You still there, Angel?”

“ Hmm,” she yawned. “ Still here, half asleep but still here.” She paused to yawn again. “ Jack?”

“ Yeah?” He instinctively held his breath.

“ Why’d you start calling me ‘Angel’?” She spoke drowsily.

He let his breath out in a sigh. “ I don’t know, do you want me to stop?”

“ No,” she answered softly in a sleep-slurred tone. “ I kinda like it.” She closed her eyes and snuggled down further under the blanket. “ I’m tired.. We should hang up before I say something I won’t remember in the morning.”

“ Okay,” he yawned, beginning to feel tired himself as she yawned once more. “ Sleep well, Angel.”

“ Night, Jack,” she murmured into the receiver. “ See you tomorrow.” She disconnected the phone line after hearing him echo her goodbye.

Jack was left staring at the phone in has hand with a small smile. “ Night, Sam. Sweet dreams.”

~*~

A few weeks and a dozen or so missions past. SG-1 encountered many different alien races, including the Nox. It was evident to most that SG-1 was more than a team, they were becoming more and more like a family. Kawalsky and Janet, still part of the family but obviously not able to share everything with them all of the time, watched this happen, proud to be included in it whenever possible.

SG-1 had returned from a mission to the planet Argos – all of them – and everyone noticed the difference. Only a handful of people knew why, but there was a lot of speculation on what happened, a lot of rumours circulating about Jack getting too friendly with a native on the planet.

Understandably, Sam was upset – and a little hurt. They had been getting closer since Jonas’s death, as close as they could without breaching regulations. They met up outside of the mountain, with their friends or without them, and were regularly mistaken as a family – Jack, Sam and Charlie.

All of that had been jeopardised by Jack’s brief fling with Kynthia. Fair enough, he was drugged and he wasn’t to know he’d been infected with nanocytes that would speed up the aging process. Still, Sam felt a little betrayed - more so for Charlie than for herself. She was angry that Jack could be so irresponsible. If he had died on that planet – or any other – what would have happened to Charlie? Sara would have been given the option of full custody but what if she hadn’t wanted him? Where would Charlie have gone? Did he have any Grandparents or family? Sam didn’t know. After Teal’c and Daniel had returned to Argos, Charlie had arrived on base. He had found her in her lab, working none-stop to try and find a cure to bring his father back.

Sitting alone in her lab, Sam could remember every word – especially Charlie’s tearful plea that struck a cord with her. He had been sitting watching her work for ten minutes, silent after her initial explanation on what had happened to his father.

“ Sam?” The young boy sounded lost, her voice small and sad as he looked earnestly at her, trying to be brave.

“ Yes, Sweetheart?” She looked up from her research, trying to smile reassuringly for his benefit.

He lowered his gaze shyly, chewing on his bottom lip. “ If Daddy doesn’t come back, can I live with you?”

The first few tears prickled at her eyes as she fought he urge to cry. She hadn’t cried since Jonas, as tempting as it was, and she didn’t want to start now. Not in front of Charlie, anyway. “ Charlie,” she began softly. “ You know I would love to have you with me, there’s nothing I’d want more. But your Mom would be legally responsible and in charge of what happens to you.”

“ She won’t want me and I don’t wanna go with her!” Charlie cried out, a tear streaming steadily down his cheek, followed by another and another. “ I wanna be with you! I want you to be my Mommy, not Sara!”

Seeing him crying again made it impossible for her to stop a tear from creeping from her own eye. Just one, but it was enough. She got down from he stool and knelt, opening her arms to him. It took less than a second for him to throw himself at her, sobbing uncontrollably. “ Oh, Sweetheart..”

Charlie clung onto her desperately. “ Please, Sam. I wanna stay with you!”

“ I know,” she could literally feel her heart breaking, a physical ache deep in her chest. “ I’ll do whatever I can, I promise.” And she knew then and there, that she would.

“ I love you,” Charlie wept. “ Don’t leave me, too. Please don’t leave me.”

Sam blinked back tears and looked up to see none other than General Hammond standing in the doorway. “ I love you, too, Charlie. Always.”

“ Then you can adopt me,” he sniffed, unaware of the General watching them. “ You can be my Mommy.”

She bit her lip hard as he started crying again, so she started rocking him in her arms until he fell into a fitful sleep. The General was still there. She gave him a questioning look and he entered the lab to help her with Charlie. Carefully, he helped her untangle Charlie, silently taking her arm to lead her away from the boy once she’d settled her coat over him.

“ Would you like me to get Major Kawalsky to help you carry Charlie to your quarters?” He asked softly.

She managed a weak smile in return. “ I should be able to manage, thank you, Sir.”

“ Captain.. Sam..” For the first time in a long time, General Hammond was at a loss for words. “ If you need anything.. If Charlie needs anything..”

“ I know, Sir,” she nodded. “ Thank you.” There was an awkward pause. “ I should get him settled.”

“ Get some sleep yourself, Captain,” General Hammond regained his voice. “ That’s an order.”

“ Yes, Sir,” she smiled a weak smile of thanks and went to pick up the sleeping child. General Hammond waited until she had gone before leaving. Maybe he was getting to old for this kind of work, General’s weren’t supposed to get soft or grow to love his subordinates like his own children. Maybe his daughter was right and he should start considering retirement. Maybe, if he didn’t know what Earth was up against.

~*~

The reunion between father and son was touching but there was something missing: Sam. She wasn’t there to share it with them, something noticed by them all. General Hammond ushered everyone else out of the infirmary discreetly, leaving the two of them to talk in private.

“ Doctor Fraiser,” General Hammond spoke quietly, shutting the door behind them softly. “ I think Captain Carter could use a friend at the moment.”

Janet smiled at his concern and nodded. “ I’m on my way.”

“ Major, Doctor, Teal’c,” the General nodded at the three remaining. “ Could you tell Colonel O’Neill to report to my office as soon as he’s done.”

“ Yes, Sir,” Kawalsky saluted as the General left, before turning to meet Daniel’s concerned look. “ Long story. Concerns the General witnessing Charlie ask Sam to adopt him.”

“ Oh.” Daniel was wide-eyed with surprise. He knew Charlie cared greatly for Sam but now the General knew how much, and must have realised the time Sam spent with him was usually spent with Jack as well. His throat felt cry, was the future of SG-1 at stake before their friends had even broken regulations? “ Can you excuse me, I need to talk to the General.”

“ I will assist you, Daniel Jackson,” Teal’c voiced his agreement with Daniel’s silent revelation. He had learned about the military rules of conduct and he, too, was concerned at how the General would react to knowing such a close bond had developed between Sam and her CO’s son.

~*~

Part Eight

~*~

“ General Hammond, Sir. Doctor Jackson and Teal’c are asking to see you,” a Lieutenant spoke after knocking on the door to the office.

General Hammond sighed, rubbing his temples. “ Send them in.”

Within the same minute, Daniel and Teal’c had entered the office, with one wearing a look of grim determination on his face and the other.. Well, the other looked like he always looked. They both stood in front of the General’s desk, awaiting acknowledgment.

“ Please, take a seat,” the General nodded, indication the two chairs behind them. They sat down without comment and he stifled another sigh. The long week he’d been having was just going to get longer. “ Is there something on your mind, gentlemen? I have a lot of work to do?”

“ You can’t split SG-1 up,” Daniel blurted out.

General Hammond blinked in surprise. Of all the things he was expecting, he hadn’t been expecting that. “ Dr. Jackson..” He wasn’t given the chance to finish.

“ Hear us out, please,” Daniel hurriedly continued. “ We’re not like any other team, we’re a family. And no matter what impression Charlie has given you, there is nothing romantic going on between Sam and Jack. They’re just friends, Charlie’s the one in the relationship with Sam. She’s become his mother, since the Colonel’s marriage split up.”

“ What Daniel Jackson is trying to say,” Teal’c cut in with what could only be described as a reprimanding look in his colleague’s direction. “ Is that you have no grounds for reassigning the members of SG-1. Captain Carter and Colonel O’Neill are nothing but professional and have never done or said anything that would indicate otherwise.”

“ And what if they someday do?” The General wondered aloud. He shook himself mentally and faced his two companions. “ I have no idea what has brought this on but your thoughts have been noted. Should such a situation arise in which I consider separating SG-1, I will take your thoughts into consideration.” The General allowed himself a small smile. “ Perhaps you should take the time to study the SGC’s version of regulations, Dr. Jackson, Teal’c. I think your minds will be put at ease.” He watched confused play its part on the archaeologists face as Teal’c just tilted his head to one side and nodded at them. “ Dismissed.”

Silently, the men left the office. Both of them wondered what the General had meant and both of them were set on finding a book of regulations for the SGC to find out.

~*~

Jack nervously went into his meeting with General Hammond. The General and Jack sat on opposite sides of the desk, the atmosphere in the levels sky-high.

“ Sir, can I ask why I’m here?” Jack asked eventually.

General Hammond regarded him carefully. “ I called to this meeting to discuss your actions on Argos and their consequences on people here.”

“ General, I’ve already explained and apologised,” Jack answered quickly. “ I didn’t understand the ritual and I didn’t know the cake had been drugged.”

The General held his hand up to silence his second in command. “ I know that, Colonel. I was talking about the fact you could have died.” He gave Jack a troubled look. “ Being the commanding officer of SG-1 is going to mean you regularly face dangerous situations. I know you can handle the responsibility, Jack, and there’s no one else I would rather have doing your job.”

“ But?” Jack prompted, not knowing if he liked where this was heading.

“ It concerns me that you don’t seem to have planned ahead should the worst happen and we lose you,” General Hammond continued. “ I took the liberty of checking. If you hadn’t made it back, your son would be delivered into the care of his mother. Ordinarily, that would be the best thing for the child. In Charlie’s case, I’m not so sure. During your absence, I witnessed your son pleading to be put in the care of Captain Carter.”

Jack was temporarily stunned into silence. “ Charlie asked to stay with Carter?”

“ I went to speak to the Captain and found her comforting him, and I heard him ask if she would adopt him so he could stay with her,” the General confirmed with a nod. “ I don’t know what the situation is with regards to your relationship with Captain Carter. Frankly, I don’t care. It does not concern me at this moment in time,” General Hammond stated. “ The reason I called this meeting was to draw your attention to this matter in the hopes you would resolve it.”

“ I will, Sir,” Jack assured him solemnly but he didn’t stand as was expected, there was something else on his mind.

“ Colonel?” General Hammond prompted with a raised eyebrow.

“ Sir..” Jack frowned slightly. “ Hypothetically speaking, if a relationship was to occur between two officers on the same team, how would that affect the future of the team in question? Do the usual regulations apply to the SGC? Would the team be split and the people in question court-martialled?”

“ Hypothetically speaking.. I’d suggest you read the regulation manual,” was the General’s only evenly spoke response.

“ Can’t ya sum it up for me?” Jack asked a little hopefully. “ I think I misplaced my copy a while ago..”

General Hammond sighed tolerantly. “ The SGC regulations on the fraternization rules are slightly different to other areas of the Air Force because of the type of work done here and because of the amount of risk involved in most missions. Should a couple want to start a romantic relationship, they should both come to me. An investigation of sorts will be carried out into the pros and cons of each individual relationship, including talks with other team members. If no one objects and no additional would-be problems are discovered by whomever is in charge of the investigation, the relationship will be given the go-ahead. If any problems occur later.. reassignment will follow.”

“ That’s good, Sir,” Jack’s face flooded with relief before a look of puzzlement took over. “ Isn’t that unusual, though? Very unusual?”

“ The SGC is not a ‘usual’ or normal operation, Colonel. You of all people should know that,” the General responded, hiding an amused smile. “ The SGC regulations are no different than the usual circumstances around them. As Dr. Jackson and Teal’c pointed out to me earlier this evening, most SG-teams, SG-1 in particular, are more like small families.”

“ Yes, Sir,” the Colonel nodded in thoughtful agreement. “ So.. hypothetically.. if, say, Captain Carter and myself came to you.. We’d be investigated and then if you give the okay, there’d be no risk of court-martial?”

“ Not if you were given the go-ahead,” General Hammond nodded. He watched his second-in-command stand and turn to go, waiting until his hand was on the door handle before speaking again. “ And Jack?”

Jack turned back wearing a questioning expression. “ Sir?”

“ Don’t put off telling Captain Carter and Charlie this news, okay? You gave them both quite a scare,” the General spoke without looking up from the folder he’d opened. “ I trust I don’t have to make it an order.”

“ No, Sir,” was what Jack said. <Ya think?> was what he was thinking as he left the office, missing his superiors satisfied smirk as he went.

~*~

It took less than five minutes for Jack to locate both his son and Captain. Predictably, they were together. The only usual thing was that instead of being in her lab playing with the computer or one of her doo-hickeys like they usually were, Charlie and Sam were in her quarters. He found the door slightly ajar from when Janet had left so was able to watch them undetected for a few moments.

The two were curled up on Sam’s bunk, Sam’s back to the door with Charlie facing it. Still, his son didn’t notice him for a while, his eyes locked on Sam’s as they spoke in whispers, too quietly for Jack to hear what they were saying. Whatever it was, it wasn’t a very happy or fun subject, judging from the expression on Charlie’s face.

Eventually, the spying and intruding made him uncomfortable. “ Hey, what ya doing?”

Immediately, Sam sat up and turned, with Charlie moving to sit in her lap. “ Colonel,” she greeted him coolly. “ Is everything okay with the General?”

The lack of us of this first name did not go unnoticed. Despite this, he put on an encouraging smile. “ Better than okay, Sam. Much better. I need to talk to you about it, actually.”

“ Can it wait till tomorrow, Sir?” She asked evenly. “ I’m on down-time now.”

“ No, it can’t,” he shook his head, the encouraging expression replaced by a stern one. “ Charlie, can you give us a moment, please?”

The little boy looked back and fourth between them, torn between listening to his father and doing what he was told or staying to ‘protect’ Sam from being upset. Sighing and giving her an apologetic look, Charlie got down from the bed and left the room, refusing to stray any further the corridor.

“ Can I ask what this is about, Sir?” Sam asked neutrally as Jack closed the door fully.

He didn’t answer her, moving to sit on the bed, studying her intently. When she looked away, breaking eye contact, he brought a hand up to her cheek. “ Sam, I’m sorry for hurting you. And I know it’s a pretty weak defence but I *was* drugged.”

“ Yes, Sir, I know. But it has nothing to do with me. You should be apologising to..” Jack didn’t let her finish her though. He kissed her, firmly but tenderly. For a moment, he felt her move her hand to his chest as if to push him away. He wasn’t about to let that happen so the hand on her cheek moved round to thread itself in her hair and his other arm snaked around her waist, pulling her closer and keeping her there. Sam stopped resisting, melting against him and kissing him back, her mind still confused but it had very little say in the matter.

They broke apart when the urge to breath got too strong to deny but he still wouldn’t let her pull away completely. He rested his forehead against hers, both breathing heavily in attempt to catch their breath.

“ Wow,” she murmured, opening her eyes.

“ Yeah, wow,” Jack agreed with a small grin. He lifted his head so he could see her face. He wasn’t surprised to see the dazed look in her eyes fade, replaced by the fiery sparkle he loved to see.

“ What the Hell was that?” She demanded, pulling herself free, standing and pacing the floor. Her heart was pounding but she couldn’t tell if it was because she was so angry or because she’d just been given one of the best kisses she had ever had.

“ If you don’t know, I guess we’ll have to do it again,” he teased slyly from his place on the bed.

“ Colonel, that shouldn’t have happened,” she retorted angrily, glaring at him and ignoring his attempt at lightening the mood. “ It’s against regulations and really, *really* shouldn’t have happened.”

“ Actually, it’s not.” He answered softly. “ If you’d stop pacing like a caged tiger and sit beside me, I’ll explain.” He patted the spot beside him with a smile.

Biting her lip and eyeing him warily, Sam sat down keeping some distance between them. Jack bit back an amused smile and repeated what General Hammond had told him. He watched her as he did so, enjoying the emotions play across her face. There was doubt, there was fear, confusion, joy and disbelief. When he was finished, Sam just saw staring at him in shock. Her mouth opened and closed, no words coming out. Grinning, Jack moved a little closer and kissed her again.

Although she responded to the kiss eagerly, it took a few more moments for her mind to catch up. Regulations.. No regulations.. Jack.. No regulations and Jack.. Jack kissing her.. *Jack* kissing *her* with *no* pesky regulations to stop him. Well, almost none.

“ Um, Jack,” Sam pushed him away when they broke apart. “ If you’re serious about this..”

“ I’m serious,” he cut in solemnly, taking her hands and gazing deeply into her eyes. All traces of joking and teasing were gone. “ Before I met you, I didn’t know what love was. I think we have a chance to find out, if you want to.” He put her finger to her lips to silence her just as she was about to protest. “ Sam, I can’t promise I’ll never hurt you again, it’s common for me to mess up as you’ll know by now, but I can promise to try, if you’ll let me.”

She smiled a watery smile. “ You know I want to give this a try, if we have the chance.” Her smile widened slightly. “ So..”

“ So we give it a go?” Jack gave her a hopeful look.

“ We give it a go, if the General gives us the all-clear,” she added softly. “ And if Charlie does, too. He needs to agree.”

“ He will,” Jack answered confidently, grinning. He gave her a quick kiss before standing and pulling her to her feet. “ Come on, we have to go.”

“ Now?” She rolled her eyes as he dragged her from the room, surprising Charlie who had been impatiently waiting outside.

“ Why not? Hey, Charlie, we’ll be back in a minute, okay?” They didn’t stop for an answer, with Jack pulling Sam behind him down the hallway towards the elevators.

There was nothing else for Charlie to do except go into Sam’s quarters and sit on the bed, shaking his head in bewilderment. Adults, who’d want to be one?

~*~

It took a little more than a minute for Sam and Jack to return to Charlie - at least another twenty minutes. By the time they got back to Sam’s quarters, Charlie was sound asleep. Sam stopped in the doorway, smiling fondly as Jack stood by Charlie and placed soft kiss on his forehead. Charlie stirred and smiled sleepily when he saw his father.

“ Time to go home,” Jack murmured. He looked to the doorway as Charlie got up, noticing how Sam hung back. “ Are you going to come with us?”

Sam smiled shyly. “ I don’t think that’s such a good idea. The General hasn’t given us permission yet and if I come with you..”

“.. We’ll probably do something were not allowed to do,” Jack finished with a knowing grin, making her blush. “ But we’re going to see you tomorrow?”

“ Yeah, I promised Charlie I’d stop by after I was done here and take him to the movies,” she answered with a nod, earning a dazed smile from the little boy who was practically sleeping on his feet.

“ Can I gatecrash?” Jack asked slyly.

She rolled her eyes. “ That’s up to Charlie.” The boy nodded sleepily and she leant down to kiss his upturned face. “ Sleep well and I’ll see you soon, okay?”

“ Okay,” Charlie hugged her and kissed her back then left the room ahead of his father. Jack lingered behind as Sam straightened.

“ Hey, don’t I get a kiss?” Jack pouted playfully. Sam just shook her head and smiled. “ Right, not allowed. Yet.”

“ Yet,” she agreed softly, and he left with his son, carrying with him the unspoken promise of a lot more to come.

~*~

The ‘investigation’ took less than two weeks. Because his second-in-command was involved and because the investigation required a senior ranking officer to head it, General Hammond was involved for the most part.

Amongst those who were questioned about the relationship were their closest friends. This was partly to keep the investigation discreet, partly because they would be the main people affected by it.

Predictably, no one had any problems with what the General, Colonel and Captain were putting forward. Least of all Teal’c and Daniel, whose opinions mattered the most after the General’s. The two were questioned separately and together, neither having any problem and both of them agreeing it would probably benefit the team relationship rather than damage it.

Kawalsky and Janet were also interviewed. They spoke honestly and ended up echoing everything Daniel and Teal’c had said. Just as the General was piecing his findings together, he got a surprising phone call that could have swayed his decision either way.

“ General Hammond,” a voice spoke up from the intercom. “ There’s a phone call for you on line two. They said it’s personal.”

“ Okay, thank you,” the General sighed and picked up the receiver. He pressed the button and connected to his caller. “ General Hammond,” he greeted whoever it was, writing his report at the same time.

“ Hi,” the softly whispered response caught his immediate attention and he set his pen down. “ Hi General Hammond, Sir. It’s Charlie O’Neill.”

General Hammond leaned back in his chair. “ Charlie? Does your father know you’re on the phone at this time of night?”

“ Daddy’s downstairs with Uncle Danny and Uncle Charlie and Uncle Teal’c,” Charlie whispered conspiratorially. “ He doesn’t know I’m using the phone so I hafta be quiet.”

“ So what can I do for you?” The General had his suspicions but played dumb.

There was a short pause on Charlie’s end as the receiver was hidden under his pillow, the General hearing muffled extracts of a conversation. After a few minutes, the phone was unhidden. “ Sorry, Uncle-General. Daddy came up to save goodnight.” His tone took on a serious note. “ I wanted to talk to you about Daddy and Sam.”

“ Oh? What about Captain Carter and your father?” General Hammond asked kindly.

“ I know what’s happening. Uncle Daniel said you were gonna try and see if Daddy and Sam are allowed to love each other so she can be my Mommy,” Charlie answered quietly. “ They love each others lots, you know. And me and Sam love each other, too. They’re not supposed to, Sam said it wasn’t allowed but I don’t understand how it’s wrong. I don’t get that, how it be wrong to love someone.”

“ No, it’s not wrong, Charlie,” the General agreed softly. “ You’d like it if Sam could be your Mom, wouldn’t you?”

“ She already is in lots of ways,” Charlie sighed and the longing in his voice was clear. “ I’d like to be able to call her Mommy, though.”

“ I know you would and I’ll see what I can do, I promise,” General Hammond vowed. “ On the condition you go to sleep now, it’s past your bedtime and I don’t think your father would be too happy if he found you on the phone.”

“ Okay.. Thank you, Uncle-General Sir,” Charlie agreed sleepily. “ Nigh-night.”

“ Goodnight,” the General spoke to a dialling tone. He placed the receiver in its cradle and sat with his hands crossed in front of him on the desk.

< What gives us the right? > He wondered with a sigh. < What gives us the right to interfere in people’s lives? What gives us the right to keep people from being together if they want to be? How can we decide who deserves to be in love and happy and who does? >

Sighing heavily, he got back to his report. He finished writing half an hour later, signing it with a flourish and immediately having it faxed to those who would either grant his request or deny it. There was nothing left for him to do but wait.

~*~

Sam arrived at base late for a change the morning the decision was reached. Usually, she was the first member of the team on base, with the exception of Teal’c who lived there, but because of a bad night unable to sleep, she was late. Her jumpy mood wasn’t put at ease at all when almost immediately after stepping out of her car Janet greeted her with a nervous smile.

“ Hi, Sam, General Hammond wants to see you as soon as possible,” Janet told her before she had the chance to say a greeting herself. “ He’s made a decision.”

The colour faded from Sam’s face. “ He has?”

The doctor squeezed her hand reassuringly as they stood in the elevator, waiting for it to reach the twenty-eighth floor. “ It’ll be okay, Sam.”

“ What if we’re not allowed to be together?” Sam asked quietly, leaning against the elevator wall with a sigh, closing her eyes. “ How are we supposed to *face* each other let alone *work* together if we’re not allowed to *be* together.”

“ You *will* be given permission, Honey,” Janet sad reassuringly, squeezing her arm. “ I can’t count the amount of people who have come up to me and asked if you’re together because you should be. There’s no one on base that doesn’t want the two of you given the chance to be happy together. No one.”

“ Oh, God, what if he says no and then the team’s split up because it’s too awkward? What about Charlie? I can’t stop seeing him,” Sam bit her lip, opening her eyes to reveal the fear in their depths.

Janet gave her a quick hug before the doors opened. “ Quit being such a pessimist. You’re usually the positive one round here.”

“ Usually?” Jack greeted them with a raised eyebrow the moment they stepped out. He looked calm – until he heard Janet’s comment. He looked at Sam anxiously, a small frown creasing his brow. “ Sam, having second thoughts?”

Sam looked deeply into his chocolate-coloured eyes and found nothing in them to indicate he was having any doubts – he was just afraid she was. She gave him a small smile. “ No. I’m just nervous. Aren’t you?”

“ No,” he grinned boyishly, taking her hand. “ It’s gonna be okay.”

“ I thought you were Mr. Worst-case-scenario. What changed?” Sam asked as the two of them walked away from Janet and their other friends who had been waiting with Jack.

“ I’ve just spent the last two weeks thinking of every possible outcome and have decided that no matter what, everything’s gonna be fine between us,” he flashed her another grin.

“ How?” Sam asked doubtfully as he let go of her hand but led her with a hand to the small of her back to the General’s office. “ How on Earth or any other planet can you be so sure?”

“ Because if the General doesn’t give us clearance,” he paused as he knocked on the door and heard the answering call of ‘come in’. “ I’ll retire.” He opened the door and ushered her in before she could respond. “ Reporting as ordered, General,” he snapped a salute in perfect unison with Sam.

“ At ease,” General Hammond nodded, and motioned to the empty chairs in front of them. “ Please sit down.” He did not miss the look they exchanged as he studied his officers intently. They were both hiding their nerves well but then they were trained to. Captain Carter was staring at the Colonel looking a little shocked but he didn’t know why. “ Now, as you know, there has been an investigation into the advantages and disadvantages of a relationship between the two of you, started by your own requests. Am I to understand neither of you have changed your minds regarding this?”

Again, another look was shared. “ No, Sir,” Sam spoke up with a fleeting smile in Jack’s direction, reassuring him as well as the General.

“ I didn’t think there would have been,” General Hammond gave a small sigh, looking down at the papers in his hand. “ Well, let’s get down to it, shall we?” Jack nodded, staring at Sam and fighting the urge to take her hand in his, just for some sort of physical connection with her. The General hid a small smile, deciding to drag out the tension just a little bit more. “ The President and Joint Chiefs were evidently impressed with my report. I have been given authorisation to make the final decision in each future case without needing their approval.”

“ And in our case?” Jack pressed, leaning forward subconsciously. Sam hid a smile, reaching out to put a restraining hand on his shoulder. He gave her a quick smile and turned back to the General anxiously.

“ In your case.. I think Major Kawalsky is going to be disappointed. You get to keep your second-in-command, Colonel. On the condition you both go and call Charlie and tell him the good news,” General Hammond answered with a grin. “ And that’s definitely an order.”

There was a moment of silence. General Hammond couldn’t stop a small chuckle at the identical looks of disbelief on his officer’s faces. “ You mean..?” Jack blinked once, looking from his superior’s amused expression to the dazed look on his second-in-command’s face. “ We’re allowed..?”

“ You’ve been recognised as two highly skilled officers the SGC can’t afford to lose and SG-1 is need as a complete until. Personally, I have to tell you I was expecting this a lot sooner and I wish you both all the best and hope for an invite to the wedding,” the General grinned. “ Just try to restrain yourselves on duty, both when on base and off-world.”

Sam snapped out of the trance she was in, smiling at the General shyly as Jack continued to stare at her as though he was afraid she’d disappear if he looked away for even a second. “ We will, Sir and thank you. We appreciate everything you’ve done for us, don’t we, Jack?” She nudged Jack in the ribs sharply. “ Colonel?”

“ Yeah, we appreciate it,” Jack nodded and grinned inanely. He got to his feet, pulled Sam to hers and kissed her before she had a chance to protest. He grinned impossibly wider when they pulled apart. “ We *really* appreciate it.”

“ Good,” General Hammond stood and shook Jack’s hand. “ Now go and call your son.”

The two needed no further encouragement. They smiled again and then left the office. As soon as the door closed behind them, Jack drew her into his arms again for another long kiss. When they parted this time, he pressed a soft kiss to her forehead. “ So, you wanna go out for dinner and a movie tonight?”

“ As in a date?” She asked with a small smile, still having trouble believing she wasn’t dreaming the events of the last twenty minutes or so.

“ Yeah, just the two of us,” he grinned back at her, hands resting on her hips until she remembered where they were standing and pulled away, taking him by the hand and leading him down the hallway. “ So what do ya say? Seven o’clock okay?”

“ Fine, Seven’s fine,” she answered softly, dropping his hand as they turned the corner and found their friends waiting there. “ Should we tell them or make them sweat a little?” She whispered slyly.

Jack nodded, fighting another and pasted a solemn expression on his face as they walked slowly towards their friends. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Sam lower her gaze to the floor and bite her lip in an action that could have been to keep back or smile or to keep back tears.

“ Guys?” Daniel was the first to speak. “ What happened?” Jack shrugged noncommittally, somehow keeping his expression neutral. Daniel looked at Sam in concern. “ Are you okay? Is the team gonna be okay?”

“ The team will be fine, Danny,” Jack answered with an overly dramatic sigh, almost making Sam lose her control. “ Just a little.. different.”

“ Different?” Kawalsky pressed, sharing a look with Janet. “ Different how?”

“ Just different,” Sam sighed with a one-shoulder shrug. “ I have a lot of work to finish and an important phone call to make so if you’ll excuse me, I need to get to my lab.”

Jack looked at her and nodded. “ Me, too. The General did make it an order.” He turned to their friends. “ We’ll explain later, guys. Right now, Carter’s right. Hammond ordered us to make a phone call.”

“ Okay, we’ll see you later,” Janet frowned a little and watched them leave, with no physical contact between them at all which was highly unusual. “ What do you guys think?”

“ I don’t think it’s good news,” Daniel murmured. “ Did you see Sam’s expression?”

“ They seemed a little.. I don’t know, they’re not themselves,” Janet agreed with a sigh. “ You think we should given them sometime and then go and find out what’s happening?”

Kawalsky and Daniel agreed, looking concerned. Kawalsky walked Janet to the infirmary whilst Daniel headed to his office. Teal’c stood for a few moments longer, running their conversation with Jack and Sam over in his head. He could not see why his other companions were worried, he had not heard anything that would indicate the General had delivered them bad news. He had the almost Tau’ri urge to shake his head. The Tau’ri could be so intelligent and brave but also so stupid some of the time.

~*~

Continued in Part Three

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