"What was that?" Jack asked mockingly and tickled his daughter as she stretched from her position in his lap and yawned loudly.

Giggling, Milou tried to wriggle out of his grasp. "Nothing, Daddy!"

"You were yawning," Maddy pointed at her sister, sticking out her tongue.

"Looks like someone is getting tired," Matt chimed in, a little relieved. Jack and his kids hadn't had time to adjust to the six-hour difference in time zones but it was getting late for him and his family. He already knew that Sebastian would put up an argument if he had to go to bed while his cousins got to stay up. Of course, there was little harm in letting his son stay up a bit later than usual – it was Christmas after all – but he would probably still wake up early in the morning and be fussy all day!

Walking into the living room after getting her baby girl to bed, Ilse overheard her husband's words. "Who?"

"I'm not!" Milou said at the same time, shaking her head vehemently.

"Can we unwrap the presents?" Nathan asked for the fifth time that evening. He'd been unable to keep his eyes from the huge stack of colorful wrapped presents underneath the tree since they'd gotten here and now his sister threatened to ruin everything by getting them sent to bed already!

Maddy's blue-greenish eyes widened in excitement. "Can we?"

Chuckling at the twins, Jack shook his head in amusement. Not that he didn't want to unwrap the presents! "What do you think?" He asked Ilse and Matt instead.

"Well," Ilse looked at her husband, who nodded and shrugged giving permission, before glancing back at Jack. "I guess it is getting late and you still have to meet up with Jacob, right?"

"Yeah," Jack grimaced. Dad had called his cell earlier to wish him a merry Christmas and to inform him that a delegation of the Tok'ra High Council had arrived at the SGC to try and mend the Tau'ri/Tok'ra-alliance now that all was well with the galaxy and… something else, but Jack hadn't really been listening. Of course, those snakes had to pick Christmas of all days to come and visit, but Jacob had sneakily volunteered, knowing that he could spend some long-needed time with his daughter on Earth. Only to find out that she wasn't in Colorado…. Jack had explained that Sam was visiting Mark and his family and had hinted that he wanted to talk to Jacob about Sam – not that there was anything wrong with her – and because the Tok'ra had arrived per teltac, Jacob had told him he'd 'drop by' after the meeting was over. Which would be in an hour or two… Jack had absolutely no idea how he was supposed to tell Jacob that he'd asked Sam to marry him, but he figured he owed him some sort of explanation if not a heads-up.

Looking around for approval, Sebastian made his way over to the tree and grabbed one of the presents and held it up.

"That one is for Nathan," Matt told his son.

Staring at her uncle, Milou frowned. "How did you know?"

"Ah," he looked at his wife for support but she was smiling – laughing – at him for his stupid mistake. "I read the name," he shrugged.

"From all the way over there?" Milou asked, astounded.

"Yeah, your Uncle Matt has really good eyesight," Jack smirked. "Now, let's see what Santa brought you, Nate."


"Amy and I are ready to go," Sam announced as she and her niece walked into the living room.

"Finally," Ryan rolled his eyes and jumped up from the couch. "We've been sitting here for over half an hour!"

"Twenty minutes," Mark corrected his teenage son in a placating tone. "Besides, you and your sister were the ones that were late."

"Whatever," he shrugged as he grabbed his coat. "Are we leaving? I'm starved."

"Don't be so rude, Ryan," Laura scolded him softly as she donned her own coat, while waiting for the others to join them. "It's Christmas!"

"So," Ryan started as his aunt walked over to him, ignoring his mother. "Why aren't you celebrating Christmas at home, with your team? Dad told me that you're all very close and you said you spend most holidays with… your CO, Daniel and Murray?"

"Yes," Sam nodded and slipped into her coat, before wrapping a scarf around her neck. "We usually do, although it's been a few years now," she shrugged at the boy. "You know, with me being stationed abroad for two years and before that Daniel was gone. Murray has left too, by now. And Janet and Cassie used to be there as well, but Cassie is spending Christmas with her boyfriend's family this year."

"And isn't your CO living in Washington, nowadays?" Mark asked, remembering Pete telling him something like that at the engagement party.

Clearing her throat, Sam squinted at him. Was he just being polite or…? "Yes, General O'Neill is working at the Pentagon, but he lives in Europe a few months a year as well," she replied curtly and opened the door, ready to get to the restaurant and stop her family from digging into her private life.

"Really? That's so cool, I wanna go to Europe some day," Ryan grinned as he followed her out to the car.

Mark quickly caught up with them, opened the car and waited for everyone to get in. "I thought generals are supposed to be busy all the time, how can he afford to go to Europe a few months a year? Dad hardly had the time to come visit us, still doesn't, by the way."

"Honey," Laura protested as she climbed into the passenger seat. "You know your father is busy with important matters!"

"I know," he grumbled, "but-"

"Laura is right, Mark," Sam added from the backseat. "He's extremely busy, I haven't spoken to him in quite some time."

"At least you know how to contact him," he huffed.

Sam cringed at his words, something that didn't go unnoticed by her niece and nephew sitting next to her. "I know how frustrating it can be, Mark," she tried again, remembering how many times she had tried to contact her father after the Tau'ri/Tok'ra-alliance fell and couldn't get a hold of him. "But it's-"

"Classified, I know," Mark replied through gritted teeth.

"Come on, Dad," Ryan protested. "I thought we weren't supposed to argue," he rolled his eyes.

Amy giggled at her brother's remark and poked her aunt in the side with her elbow. "Too bad Grandpa can't be here, with it being Christmas and all… but I'm happy you're here."

Sam smiled at her and patted her knee, knowing the young teenager wouldn't appreciate a hug – which would be awkward with their seatbelts on – but unable to tell her that she was happy to be there too. She liked spending time with them, even if Mark would bitch about their father, the AF and her job every now and then, but she was missing Jack and the kids more than she had expected. She wanted to spend Christmas with them and instead she was with her brother and his family, trying to come up with a way to tell them about her upcoming wedding. "Let's talk about something else…."

"Okay," Mark nodded, looking at her via the rearview mirror before looking back at the road and stopping in front of the traffic light, the restaurant only five minutes away. They'd be there right on time!

"What were we talking about, again?" Laura asked, smiling shyly. She knew her husband only reacted like that when they were talking about his father because he loved him, wanted his approval and was scared that he'd lose his father, but it was quite embarrassing whenever he would blow up. It usually happened when his sister, Sam, was visiting, but she also knew Mark really wanted to spend more time with his sister – and his father – and try to make up for lost time. Still, she didn't like it when Mark lost his temper.

"Ah, Aunt Sam was telling us about her team," Ryan supplied.

"No-"

"That's right, you were about to explain why your CO is able to travel to Europe for a few months," Mark said at the same time as his sister tried to object. He nodded at his son before holding Sam's gaze via the rearview mirror.

Sam groaned softly, not wanting to talk about Jack. Not right now, because if Mark kept pushing her she was sure she would blurt out the truth in the heat of the moment and she knew that wouldn't be very tactful, which would have only worsen the situation. "It's work-related," she explained.

"Right," Mark rolled his eyes at her and pulled over at the restaurant.

"It is," she insisted. "He has to work with a lot of people over there and it's easier for him to spend his time there than to sit in DC the entire time having videoconferences at odd hours because of the different time zones," Sam added as they got out of the car. At Mark's skeptical expression, she rolled her eyes. "Plus his children are half-European," she offered.

Handing his keys to the valet, Mark's head snapped up. "He has kids? Pete never told me that."

"Yes," she said slowly, wondering why he was so surprised by that. Okay, so she may have been shocked when she found out, but her brother only met the man once! "Why would Pete tell you that?"

"I don't know," he shrugged, taking Laura's hand. "Let's get inside, I'm hungry."

"Me too, I'm starved," Ryan chimed in. "I could eat a horse!"


Pressing a kiss on Milou's forehead, Jack straightened and pulled the covers over the sleeping forms of his kids. The apartment was large enough for a small family, but it certainly wasn't built for three adults, four youngsters and an infant! Luckily, the kids didn't mind sharing a queen sized bed in one of the spare rooms. Once Ilse had gotten pregnant with Simone she had transformed her study into a nursery, because she didn't want to convert the two guestrooms knowing that Jack and the kids would need the room if they came over, as well as Matt's brother and sister-in-law with their daughter. She had claimed she didn't really need a study anyway and that she usually didn't work at home anymore because she had finally learned to delegate properly and spent most of her time in their house in London, anyway.

Jack cast a last look at the sleeping faces of the children, before he turned and closed the door behind him, joining Ilse in the living room. "Where's Matt?"

"Reading a story to Sebastian," she smiled at him as she collected the last of the gift wrappings to throw them away. "I can't believe he's not asleep yet, normally he'd be sleeping already for a few hours! And now he's hardly even tired, while Milou and the twins were sound asleep already and their internal clock is six hours behind!"

"Probably from all the excitement," he shrugged, gesturing towards the Christmas tree and the now almost-empty place that once held the presents. "It was sweet of you to get something for Sam, too."

"Well," Ilse grinned at him, poking him in the ribs, "she's family now. You'll take it with you when you leave tomorrow and you can give it to her when she gets back from visiting her brother."

"You won't be dropping by for her birthday?"

She frowned as she walked over to the kitchen to throw the wrappings away. "When is her birthday?"

"The 29th, the day she gets back from San Diego."

"Oh," Ilse nodded, thinking. "Well, I wouldn't want to impose."

"Like that ever stopped you," Jack smirked, plopping down on the couch.

"True," she giggled and joined him, pulling up her legs to sit cross-legged on the couch, looking at his profile. "But I kind of assumed we'd be dropping by around New Year, like we always do," she cocked her head to the side.

Nodding, Jack turned to her. "Yes…?"

"Well, it would be a bit much, don't you think?"

Jack gasped mockingly. "I'm hurt," he placed his hand on his heart, but ruined the effect by winking at her.

"Come on, you're leaving tomorrow. That means we'd see each other three days later, on Sam's birthday – the same day she finally gets back from visiting her brother. I'm sure she has other plans than entertaining us," she poked him in the side. "You know," Ilse waggled her eyebrows suggestively at him. "After all, the divorce has been finalized already and she's been missing out on spending Christmas with you."

"Well-"

"And then we'd be dropping by again three days later," she rolled her eyes as she interrupted him. "What if we can't get along?"

Frowning, Jack looked at her. "I'm sure you and Sam will get along, don't worry about that," he made a dismissive wave with his hand.

"I'm sure we will too, but we hardly know each other, Jack. Granted, I know a whole lot more about her than she does about me, but still… you still have a wedding to plan and the kids will be there as well; it'll be overwhelming enough for her adjusting to living with you. We'll visit around New Year so you can have a few days together."

"Fine," he replied, "I was just trying to be nice anyway," he smirked and got up, checking the time.

"Time for your meeting with Jacob?"

"Yes," he sighed, his shoulder slightly sagging. "If I'm not back in an hour call out a search party!"

"Drama queen," she giggled, pushing him towards the door. "Remember where you were supposed to meet up?"

"Yeah," Jack said as he grabbed his coat and shoes, "it's not far from here. He needed a place to park, you know."

Ilse nodded her understanding and ushered him out the door. "You have a key right? I don't know when you'll be back and Matt was pretty tired already…."

Fumbling in his pockets for a minute, Jack triumphantly pulled out a key, checked if it fit the lock and then made his way to the elevator with a small wave of his hand. Ready to meet his fate, he thought, rolling his eyes. He liked Jacob, respected him. Hell, he even liked Selmak! He was sure Jacob liked him too, maybe even respect him and he knew Selmak liked him. But Jacob liked him as the former commander of SG-1, the SGC and now Director of Homeworld Security – not the man who was going to marry his daughter! Jack knew he was very fit for his age and that he could outrun a lot of men half his age, but Jacob had the advantage of having a snake inside him to give him a bit more strength and he really wasn't looking forward to having to run for his life once he told the older man what he and Sam were up to.

Slowly making his way over to where he was supposed to meet the Tok'ra, Jack tried to think of a way to tell Jacob. Why exactly hadn't he told Sam about this? Asked her for advice? Because he had thought he could handle it. Jacob liked him, he had nothing to fear from him… maybe Jack could convince Selmak to take over until Jacob was okay with Sam and he getting out a deep sigh, he looked up to see a dark figure standing next to a tree. Should he remind Jacob that he had young children? Maybe it would have been better if the Asgard had never saved his ass!

"Jack," Jacob greeted him in Tok'ra fashion, smiling at him.

Forcing a smile, Jack nodded. "Good to see you again, Jake," he couldn't call him Dad now, not in this conversation! "How are you and Selmak doing?"

"Good," he narrowed his eyes. "So, what is this really about? Not that I mind flying all the way out here, I always wanted to visit Amsterdam at night, you know."

"Yeah, I'm glad you could make it."

"Jack," Jacob replied impatiently. "You said nothing was wrong with Sammie, so why are we here?"

"You know she was getting divorced from the cop, right?" he asked, trying to work his way up to the important question. Seeing him nod, Jack continued. "She got back from Atlantis a few weeks ago and the divorce has been finalized."

"Excellent," he smirked, glad to hear his daughter was finally getting rid of that lousy friend of Mark's. "And you're telling me this because…?"

'Jacob, surely you know what O'Neill wants? Have we not discussed this possibility many times since Samantha's engagement to Pete Shanahan?'

Shaking his head slightly, Jacob told Selmak to shut up. Of course he had a good idea about what Jack wanted to tell him, but the man had been trying his patience for years and he couldn't resist making him sweat a little! "Jack?"

"Yeah, see Jacob," he stammered a bit, unsure of how to proceed. He felt like a teenager all over again, meeting his new girl's parents! He hadn't been kidding at that barbeque of Hammond's a few years ago when he'd told his friends that his meeting with Sara's parents had been awkward!

"Jack," he said in an exasperated sigh. "My parking meter is running out, you know? I would actually like to see my daughter on Christmas instead of talking about her." For a moment Jacob wondered why Sam wasn't with Jack, because if he was right about this….

Taking a fortifying breath, Jack decided to just spill. "Right, okay. Carter is an amazing woman, I'm sure you know that, and an amazing soldier and scientist too!"

Jacob rolled his eyes. "Yes, I know…."

"She's kind, funny, smart as hell, caring," totally hot, Jack thought but he daren't say aloud. He might be a three-star but he knew when to tread carefully! "Ambitious, strong, capable, beautiful, honest-"

"You're in love with her," Jacob stated, not even asking, smirking when he saw Jack's shocked expression.

"What if I were?" Jack asked oh so innocently. "You know, half of the SGC is in love with her and I'm pretty sure there are still a few aliens out there who haven't died yet that are head over heels with her."

Jacob snorted, shaking his head. "What, you're saying you can't help yourself?"

"Well, she is pretty amazing, Jake."

He nodded, "Of course, she's my daughter."

"Right," Jack breathed. "I care about her, Jacob."

"A lot more than you're supposed to, huh?"

Squinting, Jack tried to read him, wondering if perhaps he knew. This was too much of a coincidence! But the man's facial expression was blank, not even giving him the slightest hint of what he was thinking! Damn, where was that snake when you needed her! "Yeah," he shocked both of them by admitting it, "and have for a while now."

"I know," Jacob smiled, unable to keep his smugness hidden much longer. "Anise told me about the Zatarc testing a few years ago."

"Damn snake," he muttered under his breath. "And you haven't killed me…?"

"Yet," he replied, glaring at the younger man.

Swallowing hard, Jack tried to come up with a quip to get rid of some of the tension, but damn, Jacob could be scary at times! "You're saying there's still a chance? Do I at least get a head start?" he gestured behind him at the park in the direction from where he came.

"It depends…."

"On what? You know I'm an old man, right Jake? I have three young children to take care of and-"

"What about Sam?"

Blinking a few times, Jack stared at him. "What about her?"

"What do you want from my daughter?"

"I asked her to marry me," Jack blurted out, unable to stand the tension any longer. Damn, he was a lieutenant general in the USAF, he'd been through tougher shit than this and now he was giving in?

Jacob suppressed the smile that threatened at the corners of his mouth and tried to ignore Selmak's outburst in his head, while holding Jack's gaze. "What did she do?"

"Well, she didn't kick my ass," he replied hesitantly. There was no way he was going to tell Jacob about the specific circumstances in which he'd asked Sam to marry him or what exactly she had been doing at the time.

"Did she need to think about it?"

"No," Jack replied, unable to keep the smugness out of his voice. For him she didn't need two weeks to think it over, ha! "She accepted right away."

Smiling now, Jacob nodded, rubbing his chin. "She wasn't drunk, was she?"

"What, no!"

"Good," he grinned broadly now. "Where is she?"

"She's spending Christmas with Mark and his family," Jack told him, feeling like a weight fell of his shoulders with his response.

Stunned, Jacob simply stared at him. "Why?"

Hearing the drawl in his voice, Jack shrugged. "He was very insistent and she felt like she had to tell him about our engagement in person."

"On Christmas?"

"Yeah," he rolled his eyes, still not over the fact how much he was missing her, especially when he thought about all the other holidays they hadn't spent together in the past few years. It was ridiculous and he knew it. "She thought this would be best."

"Why, is there hurry?" Jacob asked, wonder in his voice. "Wait a minute, you're still in the same chain of command, Jack. How the hell are you going to pull this off?"

Sighing, Jack filled him in about their plans and made it clear that they couldn't wait much longer to get married.

"I understand," Jacob nodded, clasping his shoulder. "I guess this means I'm going to San Diego, to visit my kids."

"Sam texted me, they're going out for dinner," Jack replied, pulling his cell phone out of his pocket to see which restaurant it was again.

"Very well, I should get going."

"Jake," Jack grabbed his arm and looked at him. "You're okay with this? With me and Sam?"


"So, Sam," Laura tried to start a conversation as they were waiting for their dinner. "What are you doing these days?"

"Nothing much," she smiled, shaking her head.

Mark almost choked on his water. "That's a first, you doing nothing!"

"Yeah, Dad is always saying you're a workaholic," Amy added, bobbing her head.

"He should talk," Ryan rolled his eyes, knowing his father was just as incapable of not working as his aunt. Hell, if he didn't know any better he would think his father was having an affair for all the times he worked late! But no, his father was just that boring…. Ever since getting to know his aunt and grandfather better he wondered how in god's name they were related to his father. At least they had an exciting life, serving their country and seeing some action. Especially his aunt – with the injuries he'd seen on her in the past few years he was sure she wasn't working in deep space radar telemetry! She was scarily smart and he'd been told by his grandpa that she could kick some major ass! Plus, she was hot. All his friends told him whenever they met her and despite being his aunt even he could see it!

"Well," Sam said slightly insulted, "I'm awaiting reassignment at the moment." More like stalling for reassignment, she told herself. She had already made her decision, but she had yet to discuss it with Jack. She knew he would support her no matter what she would choose, but she still wasn't sure how and when to bring it up. They also hadn't discussed their living arrangements and she assumed they would talk about it when she got back from this lovely family visit.

"Where?"

"Mark," she sighed, getting annoyed already. God, how was she going to survive the next few days!

"Classified I take it?"

"Yeah, sure you betcha," she replied sarcastically.

"That sounds awfully familiar," Jacob huffed as he stood beside their table.

"Dad!" Both Carters exclaimed.

"Good to see you too," he smiled, pulling out the empty chair next to his son. "You don't mind if I join you, do you?"

"Of course not, Dad," Mark stammered. In a way, he was happy that his father was here, spending Christmas with them because he couldn't remember the last time he'd spent Christmas with his father, not to mention his father and his sister. It certainly hadn't happened since he'd gotten married. "I didn't know you were, er…"

"In the neighborhood?" Jacob quipped, smiling at his son as he clapped his shoulder. "Yes, I was around and thought I could spend Christmas with some friends. But then I called and Jack told me Sam was in San Diego, so I thought what better chance than to spend time with my kids?"

"You called General O'Neill?" Sam asked, finally getting over the shock of seeing her father. She was sure there wasn't a scheduled meeting, she would have been told despite the fact that she was awaiting reassignment.

"I did," he replied smugly, shaking his head slightly at the way she kept up the good soldier routine by not calling him Jack.

"So, you were looking for Sam?" Mark asked, feeling slightly disappointed. He knew his father and sister got along a lot better than he did with either of them, but it hurt that his father hadn't even thought about visiting him or his family. "I mean, that's why you called her CO right?"

"Actually, I had no idea she was back from abroad," Jacob sent a glare at his daughter for not informing him. "I didn't think there was enough time for me to fly out to San Diego and spend Christmas with you-"

Now that Sam turned out to be here, Mark added silently. "But now you can?"

"I made a few calls while I was here and when I called Jack he told me about Sam and said to enjoy Christmas with my family."

"Really?" Sam asked, hesitantly, still not sure of what exactly Jack had told her father.

"Yeah, he called Henry and they made sure I have enough time off."

"I don't understand," Ryan interrupted. "You're a general, right? Why do you need permission to get downtime from Aunt Sam's CO?"

"Ah," Jacob stammered a bit, glancing at Sam for help, but it was clear her mind was elsewhere. "The meeting is about some classified information that concerns him and therefore he's able to draw it out a bit."

Mark snorted, shaking his head. His Dad used to be better at making cover stories, he mused. "And who is this Henry?"

"President Hayes," Sam said matter of fact as she saw the waiter arriving with their food.

"The President of the United States?" Amy asked, her eyes wide.

"I had no idea you knew him personally," Laura chimed in, looking between her father- and sister-in-law, before checking her husband who clearly had no idea either.

"Oh yes, George used to serve with him and he introduced us, way before he was important," Jacob informed them casually. "And Sam knows him too."

"Through you?" Mark asked, finally regaining the ability to form a somewhat coherent sentence.

Shaking his head, Jacob looked at him with a straight face. "No, through her work. He's really into deep space radar telemetry."

"Yes," Sam ducked her head, unable to suppress her smile. "Dad, you should order something too."

"Wait," Laura placed a hand on Jacob's hand. "Now that you have more downtime, does that mean you'll be staying with us for Christmas?"

"If I'm welcome," he smiled at her.

"Of course you are," Ryan decided, grinning at his awesome grandfather – who knew the President!

"You know," Jacob smirked at his daughter.

"What, Dad?"

"Jack and I had a very interesting conversation when I went to go see him."

"You went to Europe?" She asked, stunned.

"It was on my way," he shrugged as he saw Mark stare at him too. He could hardly tell Sam that he was here per ship, not via the gate.

"Oh," Sam nodded, not liking where this conversation was headed.

"He told me to wish you all a merry Christmas," Jacob started, looking around the table at his family…