A/N: Thank you all for your alerts and PMs! :o) They made me really happy! And your reviews as well of course :o)) And because my brain is out of order by now (yeah, I really want to pass the exam tomorrow because it's slowly killing my nerves… geeez), I decided to write a bit… so here is the second chapter :o) Hopefully you won't be too disappointed :o)

Few days passed and their lives were back into normal. Jack was in his office even longer than Carter in her lab. Around one or two in the morning she would stop by the commissary for some cake and jello, two cups of coffee and make her way to his office. She knocked and entered. That was usually the time he finally realized how tired he had been. Usually she handed him the coffee, the cake and then accompanied him to his quarters. It was funny how their roles could change like that.

Jack was a bit desperate. Those two days off-world seemed to be the worst idea ever. He didn't regret it, of course. But the paperwork was probably multiplying only by somebody evil thinking about it. He was thinking about burning it. Silently.

It was Thursday when Sam appeared a bit early in his office. She tried to tell him to go home and have a nice evening. He just sighed and mentioned something about regular report that had to be made. She gave him a sympathetic smile.

"I miss old George, you know that Carter?"

"I bet you do, Sir."

"I thought we were having fun… "

The sarcasm was dripping from his voice. She put a piece of chocolate cake onto his table and a cup of hot cocoa just next to it. He could see few marshmallows in there. Before he was able to say at least thanks, she was already gone.

Of course he stayed pretty late that night. And there was no strength left for going home. He just fell onto his bed here on the base. He used to be up for days, he used to travel through the Gate, he used to be tortured from time to time, captured from time to time, starving from time to time, and he used to be able to handle it all. But now he was slowly dying underneath a mountain of papers. He was afraid they would be hunting him even in his dreams.

Carter had some time to make her plan work. She was quite happy about it.

It was Friday, all teams were back on Earth so there was a quiet nice weekend ahead of them all. Which was simply brilliant.

She knocked and entered O'Neill's office. He wasn't there. He was still probably asleep. Poor guy. She felt sorry for him. Being stuck here was no fun. His table was almost cleaned from the papers. There were piles on the ground everywhere, with notes on top of them. She took one paper and wrote something down on it. She left it in the middle of his table in an envelope. She left with a smile plastered on her face.

Jack woke up and felt like crap instantly. His body was killing him. He didn't fall asleep in a comfortable position. It seemed like he felt even worse than in the evening. Oh he needed some time alone, away from his office and the base.

He took a shower, shaved, gave himself a small pep talk and then he decided to go up there, take his things, lock the door and then quietly sneak out so nobody would notice. Or would they? He was the CO of the base, yeah… but he was also O'Neill. Although he wasn't sure if that was helpful.

Walter saw him and felt sorry for him. He truly did look like crap. Oh that man needed the upcoming weekend really a lot. After all those years of active duty was this desk duty killing him.

Jack sat down and saw an envelope on his table. He had the urge to cry desperately in the very same moment. This couldn't be happening. He took a closer look. There was no address, no name. The only thing written there was 'not related to work'. That made him smile. He opened it and immediately recognized the handwriting. Carter…

She wrote only one address on the paper. And then the note said 'Feel free to arrive this afternoon after 3PM. Don't forget your smile and fresh socks.'

It made him laugh and he didn't even know why. But it was from Carter. And it was actually really not related to work. The time was no military time. And there was no 'sir' or anything like that. He could only hope that it would not ruin his weekend. At first he wanted to go and see her but then he decided against it. Besides she already asked him yesterday for allowance to leave early today. Well, he would wait and see. Nothing could be worse than this…

Walter saw the old man smile and relax. That was good. He had some report about two power malfunctions he needed him to read through and sign. He could consider himself lucky that the General had always liked him.

The day was gone pretty quickly. Luckily.

O'Neill was suddenly standing in front of one huge house with a garden. It looked like some old school or something. There was a sign next to the door. This was a Children's home. He didn't quite understand what was going on but he decided to try his luck anyway. He rang the bell.

In a minute the door opened. And it was nobody else but Janet Fraiser standing there.

"Doc."

"Hi, General. Welcome…"

He looked so nicely surprised.

"Come on, come inside…"

He stepped in. He noticed a rug and several pairs of shoes there. He understood. He took his boots of and stayed only in his socks.

"Now I understand it with the socks…"

Janet just smiled at him. He could be sweet sometimes.

"Sir, do you know what is going on or … not?"

"Ehm… feel free to brief me in, doc."

"No, I don't think I will do that. Just come with me. You'll see."

He was afraid a bit. But she looked content … happy almost.

"You know, General, when I am not on the base… and when I have nothing to do, I usually go up here and help them around a bit. These kids are orphans. Their parents were usually soldiers, marines, pilots, doesn't matter. There is nobody to take care of them now so they are here…"

"Yeah, I can see why you're helping…"

He gave her a reassuring smile. He noticed the paintings on the walls. Everything was colorful and happy, bright and full of life. He loved that actually. After two or three corners he noticed a little girl running towards them. She had blue eyes and brown hair, she could be two maybe three years old. She was adorable. And he was sure that many men would fall for her smile one day.

She noticed him and then stopped. She walked slowly towards them then.

"Jan? Who's he?"

"This is Uncle Jack."

"He nice?"

"Yes, he is nice. He came to see you and play with you and with other kids."

The girl then measured him from head to toe. He knelt down to be more in her eye-level. She smiled at him. And he felt his heart melting.

"And who are you, starlet?"

"Adel."

"Hi there, Adel."

She kept on watching him. And he could feel Fraiser looking at him all the time. Did he mind? No, probably not.

"You know a stowy?"

"Yeah, I know some."

"About pwincess?"

"Sure. I can think of some."

"This is Cassandwa. My pwincess."

She showed him her small doll. She was wearing blue dress and she was blond. Oh yeah, he could picture one certain Colonel in blue dress. Actually… things started to make sense then. Carter left him the note. And Fraiser was working here… and this little girl named her doll Cassandra. He was no genius but he could figure this out. It made him smile even wider. He just had to love that amazing woman - women actually, all of them.

He looked at Janet. She understood and just shrugged. There was nothing left to say. She just smiled at him. It was that kind of encouraging smile which guys sometimes needed. He seemed so lost and confused and yet so happy.

The little girl reached out for O'Neill. At first he was a bit puzzled. He looked at Fraiser again.

"It's okay, Sir. She has a sixth sense when it comes to people…"

He nodded at her and picked the girl up. She nestled against his side.

"I know one princess Cassandra. She is very pretty."

Then the girl smiled at him. O'Neill looked at Fraiser once again. He had sparks back in his eyes.

She was near to tears. This was something … She would never guess that seeing him like this would bring so deep emotions to the surface. He surely had been the best father ever. No wonder that Cass sometimes called him 'dad'. Yeah, she knew that it was supposed to be secret but she overheard them once. Cass was sick that time and he came and brought her some movies and pie and she asked him to stay with her for a moment and then added the word dad. Janet almost started to cry back then. O'Neill just joined her in her bed, held her in his arms, waited for her to fall asleep. Then he kissed her forehead and left. And now she was even surer that she would be crying this evening… This was simply too much.

"Don't say a word, Doc."

"Don't worry, Sir. I won't."

"Okay… what's next, uh?"

"Come with me, okay?"

"Let me guess. More surprises?"

And she just nodded at him.

The girl kept on holding onto him. She seemed to be content. O'Neill was beyond being surprised or shocked or whatever. His heart was filled with something he wouldn't ever imagine having there again. He missed the feeling of having kids around him, yeah. But this was … amazing. He remembered how Cass fell in love with Carter back there on her homeworld. She needed about a minute to create that strong bond… well this girl was… just like Cass. She already got her share of bad luck in life… and she found herself a trustworthy person now.

He felt tears in his eyes. He blinked them away. Janet just gently touched his arm to let him know that everything was being okay. He smiled at her. And she could see the man inside the General. The gentle broken man with wide-opened heart filled with love and care. She could understand even better why her friend had fallen for him so long ago. He was no General now. He was just Jack, maybe Jack O'Neill, just a man visiting his friends in Children's home.

When Sam called her to discuss this matter with her, she wasn't sure what to do. She couldn't quite believe that this would be a good idea. Oh she was so mistaken. Seeing her CO like this was… unforgettable. She couldn't wait to see his face in about… hmm two minutes. He had no clue about this place and what was ahead of him.

She took a look at Adel. She was resting, staying calm, smiling, trying to keep her eyes open. Actually she was slowly falling asleep.

"Hey sweetie, don't fall asleep now. Try to stay awake…"

She touched her gently. The girl woke up and automatically snuggled closer to Jack. His eyes were wide in shock. He looked at Janet with the big question mark written on his forehead. He kept caressing the girl's back though.

"She had some troubles with sleeping, Sir. We're trying to keep her awake during the day, let her rest after the lunch and then put her to bed in the evening… but it's hard because she's not even three years old."

"Oh… okay."

"She's not cooperating, she's like you..."

He smiled at her. Yeah, he could understand that... He could sense that the doc wasn't telling him everything but it was probably just because of the girl. He kissed her into her hair.

"Hey Sweetie, can't sleep now, we're gonna play."

"Sweepy…"

"If you stay awake now, I will tell you a story in the evening… about a princess named Cassandra. It's just few more hours…"

He could tell from the excited movement of her small legs that she was looking forward to that. Janet could only stare at him in amazement. He was really good around kids. It was not just Cass or Merin… he was good around every kid.

"Hey, doc, everything okay?"

She realized that she had stopped there in the middle of the hallway.

"Yes, sure, don't worry, Sir."

He noticed the tear on her face and then it hit him. She was just moved. And it was because of him. This situation was affecting her as well as it was affecting him. She was a good woman. Yeah, he has always known that. The best doc ever.

He reached for her and wiped that tear away. She laughed at him. This horrible man and his gentle gestures.

"Don't say a word, General."

"Wouldn't dare to, doc."

And then again, they shared a smile. This afternoon was a good one after all.

A/N: okay folks, the second chapter is up. So – did anyone guess this? I promise – more to come… more surprises – for you and for Jack as well :o)) I know this chapter is rather short but hopefully that doesn't matter. Oh and about the baby talk... I know a lot about children from Czech (trust me, I do) and I was in the UK as an au-pair and was taking care of a 13 months old girl and three years old boy - I tried to remember their troubles with talking, certain letters and so on... in both languages... so I hope it's realistic... :o)