"Here we are," Jack said as he pulled up to his driveway. Parking the truck, he killed the engine and took out the key, before jumping out and walking around back to grab Ilse's bag.

Ilse slipped out of the truck and walked over to the door – which of course wasn't locked – and went inside. Hanging up her coat she cast a quick glance around the living room. "You haven't been home for days, have you?"

"Nope," he responded, on his way to the guest room with her bag. "Now, that you mention it," he yelled back, "I don't even know if I have any food."

She sighed and rolled her eyes, not the least bit surprised. Opening the fridge almost made her pass out from the stench of expired… food? Ducking, she opened one of the lower cabinets, grabbing a new garbage bag and with it she started clearing out all the expired products… which only left a few bottles of beer, two eggs and a bottle of lemonade. "Maybe I should buy some stuff."

Walking down the hallway and overhearing her mumbling, Jack volunteered. "I could do it."

"That's real sweet of you, Jack, but seeing as what you had in the fridge, I think it would be wiser for me to visit the grocery shop."

"Hey, I resent that!" She just quirked an eyebrow at him and he shrugged in response. "Maybe you're right… Unlike you, I'm not that great a cook."

Ilse laughed at his form of an apology and handed him the garbage bag. "You make it sound like I'm a chef in the kitchen, which I'm not."

"A better chef than I could ever be," Jack replied before taking out the trash.

When he got back inside, she asked him where he'd placed her bag because there was some paperwork she brought him. Quickly running to the guestroom – which was in the same state as she'd left it the other day – she started digging in her bag, trying to find the folder she'd brought along. Letting out a triumphant sound when she finally found it, she left for the living room and sat down next to Jack, passing him the papers.

"What's this?"

"Some of them are informative, a few are request forms, and the rest consists of legal documents," she said, waving vaguely with her hand at nothing. "Lily asked me to bring them with me, because she wasn't sure when she'd see you again. The legal documents were drafted by or at least came from one of the law firms my company works with which also deals with international law…"

Jack sighed, listening to her voice trailing off… he really didn't want this. Of course, he would do it and he should probably feel honored and all, but it also meant that he had to accept the fact that Lily might die. "I really don't want to think about this," he said rather brusque.

Turning towards him, scowling Ilse's voice somehow came out overly emotional. "And you think I do? She is my sister too, you know!"

Restlessly, Jack got up and stuffed his hands in his pockets, before pacing in front of the television. "I know that, of course I know that," he muttered, rubbing his hands over his face. "It's just that- I don't know, it's just not fair."

"Yeah," Ilse said in a small voice, hugging her arms around her knees on the couch. "But signing them doesn't mean that she will die, it's just a precaution. Like a will, she's just a bit younger than most people…"

Jack looked at the curled up figure and could almost see the sadness radiating from her body. Sitting back next to her, he whispered, "That last part is what bothers me," which caused her to sob. "C'mere."

Ilse felt his arms envelope her in a hug, and she placed her face in the crook of his neck. She knew that no one expected Jack to be a teddy bear, but he could always calm her down with one of his hugs. "It's so unfair, she's so young, beautiful, talented, and she has a baby… babies," she sniffed. "This shouldn't be happening to her, why can't it be me?"

"Whoa there, don't go saying crazy stuff like that," Jack said soothingly stroking her hair. "You're young, smart, beautiful, and talented as well."

"But she has a family," Ilse sobbed.

"You know I'd trade places with her in heart beat, right?" He felt her nod against his shoulder and wished there was something he could do. He already knew from his blending experience that the healing device couldn't handle this type of disease, perhaps if they'd caught it earlier – but that's always hard with a pancreas. And even if he wanted her to and could convince her to blend with a Tok'ra – which he wouldn't recommend to anyone, especially not after what that treacherous snake did to him – it wouldn't be of any help since she was pregnant… The only thing he could do now was to sign the papers and work out all the details, so that was what he would do, he decided. Right after Ilse had calmed down a bit…

"O'Neill," Jack barked in the phone. Who the hell calls at 0500 hours?

"Jack!"

"Daniel?" Of course, Space Monkey… knowing full well that he'd to get up in an hour, Jack thought irritated. "What the hell?"

"I know it's a bit early-"

"A bit?" He asked sarcastically. "Couldn't this wait for another, oh I don't know… hour?"

"Uh, maybe… but now that you're awake it doesn't matter, now does it?"

Jack didn't even respond to that, except for the groan that left his mouth.

"It's about Anise…"

"What did the snake do?" He rolled his eyes; those snakes were so predictable.

"She didn't do anything, why?" When it seemed like he wouldn't get a response, Daniel continued. "I know I kind of invited her and that you want me to take care of her, but I really don't know what she should wear…"

"You're waking me up because the snake doesn't know what to wear?"

"Well, I don't want her to stand out in the crowd, but I don't know where to get her a dress or something that's appropriate. I don't even know what's appropriate for a formal party like this, the only engagement parties or weddings I've been to were off-world…"

Jack sighed and ruffled his hair, while trying to maintain a friendly tone. "How should I know, Daniel?"

"Well, you're taking Ilse, what is she wearing?"

"Again, how should I know?"

"She didn't tell or show you? Where did she get her outfit?"

"It was kind of late when she got here, so no. She probably bought the dress in Europe or already had it, if she's even wearing a dress…"

"Late, huh? Is she still there?"

"Daniel," Jack groaned in a warning.

"Oh come on, just ask her!"

"I'm not gonna wake her for that damn snake."

"Then do it for Freya?" Daniel tried hopeful.

"Right now, I'm not so sure if I even like Freya, so that argument won't fly."

"Jack, please?"

"Just ask Carter."

"I thought about it…"

"So…? Why didn't you and called me of all people?"

"… I didn't want to wake her."

"Daniel!" Jack yelled, before hanging up the phone.

"Daniel?"

"Sam!"

Sam stepped back, allowing Daniel to come in. "What are you doing here? I thought you wouldn't be done for a few more hours?"

"Yes, but Anise came back late last night and told us that the Tok'ra High Council wanted to postpone the briefing."

"What, why?"

"Apparently, they – like Anise and Freya – didn't realize the significance of your, eh… party, betrothal or whatever you want to call it. After hearing that this was something important in our culture and learning that Anise and Freya were invited, they didn't want to disrupt your ceremony."

"Oh… they do realize there isn't an actual ceremony, right?" Sam asked, sleepily.

Daniel blushed and shrugged his shoulders. "I may have forgotten to mention that," he admitted sheepishly.

Sam smiled at him and handed him a cup of coffee, before settling down in the living room. "That still doesn't explain why you're here at 0730…"

"Ah yes, well, there is a good explanation for that. You see, Anise was asking me questions about it and all of a sudden I realized that I didn't know what she should, eh… wear."

She just stared at him, wondering what had happened to her best friend and who had taken his place… "What?"

"Well, she's not supposed to stand out and since I'm the one that has to chaperone her, I have to make sure that she is properly dressed. All she had with her was one of her, eh… slightly revealing outfits and one of those brown Tok'ra outfits your father always seems to wear."

"I see… No, wait, I don't," she said, scrunching up her face in confusion.

"Sam," Daniel sighed. "First of all, I'm a guy. Secondly, the only formal parties I've been to were off-world. Third of all, I've been kind of out of the loop with what women wear these days and I sure as hell don't know where to buy it."

When Daniel was done, Sam couldn't help herself but snicker. "Oh Daniel," she smiled, tears forming in her eyes. "I guess that means you have to take her shopping!"

"It's not funny, Sam!"

"On the contrary," she laughed, wiping at her eyes. "Besides, it's not like she can wear my clothes, so you have to buy her something."

Daniel waited until she done making fun of him and then she showed him her dress and gave him instructions.

"Daniel," Jack questioned as he opened the door. "Oh, hi Carter, Anise and Freya," he said as Daniel stepped aside. Because the Tok'ra meeting had been canceled, he'd decided to take the day to enjoy it until he had to go to Carter's shindig… apparently, they had other plans.

"Can we come in, Sir?"

Jack nodded and opened the door, gesturing with his hand. "What brings you to this neck of the woods on this fine day?"

"Well, I went to Sam this morning," Daniel explained, ignoring Jack's glare. "She gave me a few instructions and boutiques and Anise, Freya and I went, eh…"

"Shopping?" Jack smirked, waggling his eyebrows as he walked to the living room.

"Yes, Jack, we went shopping," he sighed.

Sam snickered and asked if Cassie had arrived yet.

"Noooo, I thought she would go to your place?" Jack said hesitantly. After Janet Fraiser's death, he and Carter had gotten joined guardianship over the alien girl and she'd just started college. Jack knew she didn't like Pete – ever since she'd come to Earth she'd been playing matchmaker between himself and Carter – but she had promised she'd be here for Carter.

"I should call her," Sam said wary. "That way Daniel can continue his story."

"Yes, so we went shopping," Daniel started after Sam had turned away and Jack went to the kitchen to pour themsomething to drink.

"Your planet really is amazing, never before have I seen so much trade in one place only for clothing articles," Anise stated with wide eyes.

Nodding, Jack placed the glasses on the table. "I'm guessing you took her to the mall?"

Daniel nodded and explained that Anise and Freya had had a hard time choosing a dress. So they had bought several and now they wanted to know which one would be appropriate.

"Okay," Jack drawled out. "Why come here?"

"Well, Sam thought Cassie would be here already, so that way she could help choose." Daniel said, as if explaining something to a five year-old. "Oh and I figured that Ilse might be helpful as well."

Jack noticed the look Daniel gave him with that last statement, but decided to ignore the archeologist for now.

"Cassie's flight was delayed and she'll be landing in two hours," Sam said, joining the two men and the Tok'ra in the living room.

"Should we wait?" Daniel asked tentatively, while sipping his drink.

"No, Dad, Teal'c and Pete are now making sure everything is set right, but I'm sure there will be plenty of other things to do. We might as well do it now."

Daniel looked around and glanced between Jack and Sam. He gingerly asked "What about Ilse?"

Sam cringed involuntarily, not even wanting to know how Daniel knew she'd be here and resisting the urge to look around the room for any sign of her. Instead, she finished the drink the General had given her.

"She's out grocery shopping, apparently I'm not good enough to do that," Jack mockingly complained.

Anise, who had been studying the interior design of Jack's house, took this as a sign to go and get dressed. Jack told her to use the bathroom around the corner; there was plenty of room…

Jack turned his head towards the door as soon as he heard his truck pull up. "Ah, just in time for the show."

Ilse opened the door with one hand, holding a bag of groceries in the other, while talking on the phone with Lily through her headset. "Ik kom net binnen…" She waved with her – now free – hand while she walked over to the kitchen to put the bag on the counter to be put away later. "Wacht even, een moment…" She told her to hang on a moment, while she would take off the headset.

Following her with his eyes, Jack waited until she turned to him to see who she was talking to. She was talking quietly, so he had a hard time hearing her, let alone understand what she was saying, but if he had to guess it was Lily. "Anyone wants something to drink?" He asked Carter and Daniel who were still staring at Ilse, while waiting for Anise/Freya to get dressed. He snapped his fingers, which got their attention and held up their now empty glasses.

"Oh, no, it's either beer or lemonade and I don't want the first and am not sure if the last was actually strawberry flavored."

"No thank you, Sir," Sam told him absentminded.

"I'm pretty sure Ilse bought new drinks as well, Danny."

Daniel still shook his head, claiming he wasn't thirsty anymore.

Jack shrugged and walked back to the kitchen, passing Ilse on his way who mouthed 'Lily' to him. So he was right! When he got back to the room, he saw that Ilse had moved closer to the couch and he snuck up behind her. He quickly grabbed her cell phone from her hand and jumped back in his seat on the couch. "Hey Lil!"

Sam was staring at the General by now, she wasn't used to see this side of him… sure, he could act childish from time to time – which could be quite adorable – but not like this, he actually stole her cell phone and was chatting amicably with the person on the other end. She turned her head and saw that Ilse was just glaring at him, undignified. Daniel looked like he was shocked as well – all thoughts of Anise/Freya forgotten.

"Um… I don't think I've properly introduced myself," Ilse said bashfully as she proceeded towards Daniel. "Dr. Jackson, right? I'm Ilse Lindeman."

Daniel was brought out of his stupor by her shy voice, and got up to shake her hand. "Yes, please, call me Daniel," he smiled charmingly at her.

"Alright Daniel, but only if you call me Ilse," grinning, she continued. "I thought you were in the briefing room as well, the other day?"

Nodding his head in an affirmative, she apologized to him for not introducing herself that day. "It's okay; I heard you were in a hurry to get home."

"A meeting actually, but yes, I didn't have a lot of time although that's not a good excuse."

"What do you think?" Anise came walking into the room, wearing one of her purchases. Everyone – except Jack, who was still chatting with Lily on the phone – looked up and after a short silence, it became clear that perhaps the dress would be a bit too daring for a formal party. "That is alright, I have several other examples to show you. This does not mean that I will not be able to keep the dress, does it Daniel?"

Daniel told her she could keep all the dresses, since Jacob - who'd have thought? – had already paid for everything. When she left to change, Daniel turned back to Ilse and started a new conversation. "We got the artifacts yesterday."

"Yes, they all looked in perfect condition," Sam added. "I guess that's why you were at the General's the other day?" Sam innocently tried to ask the question that had been bothering her for a while now.

"Oh no, that was, eh… a social call," Ilse explained, referring to the evening that Sam and Pete came by. "No, my assistant had it delivered as soon as it arrived, per my instructions."

"Ah, right, I see," Sam nodded and tried to focus her attention on something else, before she really made a fool out of herself. Of course it was a social visit! What else could have happened? She came by to drop of the artifacts and they mysteriously ended up in the shower together? Shaking her head, Sam let go of the faint hope she'd had that perhaps Ilse had come by and accidently got dirty, thus needing a shower. It was stupid and she had to stop thinking about it – them, him. Today they'd be celebrating her engagement to Pete, that's where her thoughts should be!

"Well I can tell you that that sister of yours is absolutely driving me crazy, insisting to go grocery shopping and telling me not to come along because I wouldn't know food if I tripped over it," Jack cheerily said to Lily on the phone while smiling evilly at Ilse.

Sam turned her head to see Ilse's reaction, but she was just rolling her eyes and sticking her tongue at the General – real mature… Wait, he was talking with her sister? He already knew her sister? And by the sounds of it, pretty well.

"I'm glad to hear that, what about my little niece?"

Stunned, Sam was actually agape, staring at him. His niece? They were already sharing family? Holy Hannah!

"Yes, please put her on, that way I can talk to her."

Daniel was probably just as stunned as Sam was, he thought glancing to his side to look at her – yes, definitely as stunned as Sam. But he thought it was actually quite endearing to hear Jack talk so freely to someone – they were like family and he knew Jack cared about them, but that didn't mean he always spoke his mind – especially hearing him talk to a small child. Suddenly Ilse, who walked over and plopped down next to Jack, scooting until she was sitting against him, blocked Daniel's vision.

"Jack," she put her hand on his arm, to get his attention.

"Yes, it's Uncle Jack, sweetie."

"Jaaack," Ilse prodded his side, which got his attention.

"Oh and your auntie Ilse," he mock glared at her.

"Even if she's actually listening to you and able to combine your voice, words and image, I doubt she already understands English," Ilse admonished him. "She's only a few months old, Jack."

"You always have to ruin my fun, don't you?" He sighed at her, but grinned before handing her the phone so "you can translate."

It didn't take long for Ilse to get Lily back on the phone and after a quick "Bye" they hung up. "Was that the Tok'ra you told me about, Jack?"

"Who?"

"Anise just came back to show her first dress, Jack," Daniel rolled his eyes at him. "Didn't you notice?"

"No, but yes that was her. Danny, how many does 'several' mean?"

"I have no idea, I figured she probably got two or three dresses, right?" Daniel looked at Sam and Ilse, who both snorted.

"If she had a problem choosing a dress and bought 'several', we'll be here a while," Ilse giggled.

"Great! Just what I need; a Tok'ra dress up," Jack uttered. "Why couldn't she just choose one?"

"I don't know, perhaps because it was all new to her?" Daniel offered.

Ilse shook her head at his argument. "I doubt that has anything to with it."

"Why?" Jack drawled out.

"I've been on this planet my entire life and I couldn't choose which dress I should wear," she smiled.

"What?"

"Yeah, I brought three dresses though, including matching accessories… why did you think my bag was so heavy?"