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

Here comes Jack again. He has really used me a lot these last few days.

Wonder what it'll be this time: hot dogs, steaks or hamburgers.

Yep, I thought so. The man does love a good steak. But hey, what's this other thing you threw on me? It's kind of pink with a bone running through the middle.

Jack is looking back at the house and talking to someone, saying something about putting a "pork chop" on me. That must be what this meat is. Never seen this before.

I'm glad Jack bought this house because I got rather lonely out here all by myself. I was hardly ever used by the family that was here before him. Even in the summer they did most of their cooking indoors. If they didn't want to use me, then why did they put me here in the first place?

Since Jack moved in, he keeps me busy; when he's home that is. There are times when he disappears for days.

I heard Jack once say to someone "to be a fly on the wall." Well, I'm the "grill on the deck" that has seen and heard some interesting things since he has lived here.

I distinctly remember one thing that happened the first few weeks after Jack moved in. He held a pen in his hand as he read some papers and said softly "if this is what you really want, Sara. I'm sorry for the pain I caused you."

Tears appeared in his eyes as he laid down the papers on the picnic table and scribbled his signature.

Once when Jack was sitting nearby in an outdoor lounger with his long legs stretched out and reading a newspaper, an orange kitten wandered up on the deck. It was really interesting to watch Jack stare at this little ball of fur. The kitten slowly came closer, sat down, looked up at him and mewed. Jack stared at it for a few moments, laid the paper in his lap and gently picked up the tiny animal.

"Did you wander away from your mother?"

The cat mewed again.

Jack pushed a button to make the head of the lounger recline a little, set the kitten on his chest, picked up the newspaper and continued to read.

The kitten hung on by its claws, then realizing it wouldn't fall, curled up in a ball and closed its eyes. Jack looked down at the kitten and grinned.

A little later, Jack laid the newspaper down beside him on the deck.

He gently petted the kitten with one finger and talked to it as it slept.

"You know you have to go back to your mother, I can't keep you. I'm not home all the time so there'd be no one here to feed you."

The cat opened its sleepy eyes, took a deep breath and closed its eyes again.

"Besides" Jack continued "what would people think? Everyone knows I'm a dog person. I'm the big bad Colonel. I can't ruin my reputation by having a little thing like you taking over my house and making me look . . . sensitive. Nope, it just wouldn't do for me to have a cat."

The cat opened its eyes, raised its head and mewed as if it didn't care what Jack had said.

About that time, the phone rang inside the house so Jack picked up the kitten and set it on top of the newspaper. He went inside and closed the sliding glass door. The kitten stared at the door for a few moments, went back down the steps and disappeared into some bushes.

A few minutes later, Jack came back outside, stopped and looked around.

"Where'd you go?"

He leaned over the rail of the deck to see if he could see the kitten, but it was gone.

"Couldn't keep you anyway, even though you were kinda cute. I bet Carter would have liked you."

For awhile, Jack was very much a loner. He was always by himself, never had anyone over until three people in particular started coming by more often. I heard him refer to them as his "team." There's a tall muscular man, a man with glasses and a pretty blonde female. They sit nearby me and talk, tease and argue as they wait for whatever particular meat to cook that they've put on me.

Jack and the one called Daniel sometimes get into a difference of opinion and start to argue. Jack likes to get a rise out of Daniel just because he can, and when Daniel realizes what Jack is doing, he acts mad for a little while and then before too long, they're friends again, acting as if nothing has happened.

Teal'c usually sits and listens to the other three, never entering into the conversation or voicing his opinion, unless someone asks him a direct question.

Sam is a very attractive woman. I noticed very quickly that Jack liked to watch her when she wasn't looking and I saw her doing the same with Jack. At first they were very formal with each other, trying to hide how they really feel, I guess. Sometimes they would tease and flirt and gaze at each other for a few seconds and then it was back to the formality.

I heard Daniel once say to Teal'c that he wished Jack and Sam didn't have the regulations keeping them apart.

After the meat is cooked, all four sit down at the picnic table to eat. Jack and Sam usually sit on one side and Daniel and Teal'c on the other. They talk about going through the gate and meeting up with aliens from other planets. Must be why Jack is gone for long stretches of time. I've listened as they discuss some of the places they've been to. Sounds exciting but scary. Jack sometimes comes home with a bruise on his face, his arm in a sling or limps around for whatever reason.

Jack sometimes gets unexpected visitors. A man named Harry once showed up here as Jack sat reading nearby. From what I gather, Harry was trying to convince Jack to do something that I'm not sure Jack was really sure he wanted to get involved in, but he finally agreed.

Not long after that, Jack had his team over for a cookout and Daniel and Jack started to argue. Daniel couldn't quite understand why Jack had kept a mission a secret from them. Jack tried to explain that it had not been his idea, that he was just following orders, but Daniel's feelings were hurt. Teal'c and Sam had understood why Jack had done what he did so they tried to explain it to Daniel. He finally accepted it and agreed to forget about it and move on. As Teal'c, Sam and Daniel told Jack good night, Jack pulled Daniel into a hug. The two men grinned at each other and all was forgiven.

I remember one time, Jack had put some hot dogs on me and had gone back into the house to get something. Harry sneaked up on the deck, grabbed a hot dog, stuck it in a bun and grabbed a beer that Jack had left sitting beside me. Harry went over to the other side of the deck and sat down. Jack came out of the house, stopped and stared, trying to figure out what had happened to the hot dog. He slowly turned around and stared at Harry. They talked a few minutes until Harry stood, pulled a piece of paper from his pocket and threw it on me. Naturally, the edges of the paper began to singe. Jack asked what was on the paper and when Harry answered, Jack quickly pulled the piece of paper from the fire before it completely burned.

Haven't seen Harry again since that happened.

Jack has had people he works with to drop by. It's always interesting to see the mix of faces and personalities that show up.

Jack likes to go all out for these "barbecues" as he calls them. He buys a lot of meat and sometimes has someone else bring another grill because there isn't enough room to cook everything on me.

I overhear some of the females as they chat. They think Teal'c is 'hunky,' Dr. Jackson is 'really cute' and Jack is 'totally hot.' One woman told another that Sam was very lucky to be on the same team with three attractive men.

Men also talk about Sam. They think she's beautiful, smart and nice and I watch them as they talk with her. Some flirt, some get really shy and don't know what to say. I heard one even ask her for a date. She politely declined.

Not too long ago, Jack came walking out on the deck with a woman he called Kerry. She had long curly hair and a pretty face. She and Jack flirted with each other and there was kissing going on as they stood nearby.

Kerry was here quite a few times but the most memorable was when Sam showed up unexpectedly while Kerry was inside the house. By the look on Jack's face, he was nervous and kept glancing toward the house, expecting Kerry to walk out any minute. When Sam started telling Jack that she was unsure about her upcoming marriage, Kerry came stumbling into their conversation. No one said a word for a few seconds, then Kerry finally spoke. A few moments later, Sam's phone rang and she left very quickly.

Jack and Kerry sat down to eat. Kerry tried to engage Jack in conversation but she soon realized that Jack's mood had changed and he wouldn't look at her when she tried to talk with him. Kerry stared at Jack, then gave some excuse that she had to leave. He didn't try to stop her and followed her into the house. Jack soon came back out on the deck. He stood at the table for a few moments, picked up a dish and threw it as hard as he could into the yard. Sitting down on a bench, he put his elbows on his knees and buried his face in his hands. He sat that way for several moments, finally stood up, gathered everything off the table and went inside.

I never saw Kerry again.

It's not too much later since that happened and Jack is now standing over me and he's humming.

I see the sliding glass door open and Sam walks out to join him as they smile at each other.

"How's my pork chop coming along?"

Jack opens his arms to her and smiles. "Looks almost done to me but you'll have to be the judge of that."

Jack's arms encircle her waist and he pulls her to him. Sam puts her arms around Jack's neck and they gaze into each other's eyes and kiss. The kiss goes on for so long that I don't know how they're breathing. It finally ends and Jack buries his face in Sam's neck as he holds her tightly.

Eventually, they break apart and look at each other.

"I love you, Sam."

"And I love you, Jack."

He reaches for her left hand, looks at the engagement ring on her finger and smiles. He takes her in his arms once again and gives her a lingering kiss to her forehead as she closes her eyes, smiles and breathes a contented sigh.

Jack seemed unhappy when he first came here, but now here he stands, holding the woman he loves in his arms and all seems right with the world.

I watch a lot of things go on around me day after day. Wonder what I'll witness next.

The End