The trip to the general's cabin was wonderful. Sam had felt more relaxed in his presence since ending things with Pete. It probably didn't hurt that the general was no longer seeing Agent Johnson. She hadn't asked what happened between them. Honestly, she didn't think she wanted to know. They really didn't discuss anything serious. They just fished, but it was pure bliss. Coming home had been harder than she expected, but here she was in her lab a few weeks later sitting at her computer trying to word the toughest letter of her life. Maybe she was being impulsive. Maybe she was making a big mistake. It was a gamble, a huge gamble. If he didn't feel the same then she was giving up everything and gaining nothing, but she couldn't get her father's last words out of her head. She was really hoping he was right and she could still have everything she wanted.

Sam knew she had to deliver this particular letter in person, so she made her way to the general's office. Walter nodded for her to go inside and there was Jack, err, the general. "Carter, what can I do for you? New gadget? Or, is this about Daniel's crazy notion I'm going to let him go to Atlantis, because I'm not signing off on that one. We need him here." Sam sighed. This was going to be a lot more difficult than she expected. She slowly closed the door. "I have a feeling I'm not going to like this, Carter." Sam looked puzzled, so he continued, "door closing generally usually means trouble in my experience. Have a seat and tell me what's on your mind."

Picking the seat closest to the door, Sam sat and silently handed the letter to the general. He opened it and began to read. Sam knew by his face the exact moment he realized what she was requesting. His face suddenly looked so sad, so lost, that she could be silent no longer. "General, I know you're surprised."

"Surprised? Oh, that doesn't even begin to cover it Carter. This is not happening. You've been through a lot lately, so I'm going to hand this back to you and you are going to go right back to your lab and start tinkering on something right now. We are going to pretend this conversation never happened."

"General, please. If you'll just let me explain then I think you'll see the merit in saying yes to this request."

"Not happening, Carter. There's no merit in sending my top scientist, who happens to be the leader of my premier team, to Nevada."

"Jack, listen to me." That got his attention. The look on his face was priceless, but Sam continued before he had time to recover from her sudden use of his first name. "I've thought this through. It's not a knee jerk reaction. It's time. Cassie is really struggling with school. Being at Area 51 would put me a lot closer to her. She needs me right now. I can't keep traipsing across the galaxy while she is struggling. I owe her this time. If I hadn't been on SG1, I'd have adopted her myself. That's something I'll always regret, especially now that Janet is gone. You know that."

Jack nodded slowly, "but a transfer? Of course, you should help Cassie. I love her, too. How about using some of that leave you've accrued? We could take turns. I bet Daniel would help. We can get her through this without you sacrificing everything."

"Well, that would take care of one of my reasons," Sam paused, "but I have a bigger reason for requesting this transfer."

"What's going on, Sam?"

"The other reason is even more personal, sir. It has to do with feelings. Feelings that I've tried very hard to get over but refuse to go away. Feelings that seem to prevent me having a life outside of the SGC."

"Oh," Jack said quietly. "And, these feelings are part of the reason you want to leave? You think they'll go away if you were elsewhere and you could have a normal life, is that it?"

"No!" Sam shook her head emphatically. "I'm definitely not interested in letting go of these particular feelings. I tried that and I can't do it," she paused and took a deep breath, "the war is over. I was thinking if I weren't the only one who felt those feelings-"

"You're not," Jack interrupted softly.

"If I'm not the only one feeling feelings then maybe now's the right time to act on those feelings, and some things would need to change first."

"Thus the transfer."

"The transfer would open up some opportunities that aren't available at the moment."

"But, Nevada is not Colorado Springs. There's another option you know. I could retire."

"You are needed here," Sam protested.

"But, you said it yourself, the war is over. I could retire now. I'd have time for plenty of fishing and other things."

"I'd never ask you to do that and if something went wrong out there, there's no one more qualified than you to handle the threat."

"The same could be said for you."

"And, if I were needed then Area 51 would just have to lend me to the SGC, but I can't do this anymore. It's time to take it out of the room, sir."

"Sir? I don't think sir fits this particular conversation. Come to think of it, I don't think this is the best place for this conversation. Let's discuss our options over dinner tonight. I'll char meat. We'll figure something out. For now, I'll just file this," he waved the letter in the air theatrically, "right here in this drawer."

"Tonight is good. I'll be there," Sam said rising from her chair.

"And, Sam. I agree. That room has been locked up for to long. We'll figure this out."