"I believe Daniel Jackson speaks the truth." Teal'c said, walking into the briefing room after he finished speaking with the Prior Daniel.

"Lotta good it's gonna do us." Jack said, pointing toward Landry's office.

"I'm gonna let you tell them yourself, because I don't have the stomach for it." Landry said, looking at Woolsey, who followed him into the room.

"Aw, that's all right, sir. Gen. O'Neill filled us in. The IOA has nixed the whole thing." Mitchell said, sympathetically.

"No, I don't think you know everything." Landry said, seriously.

"I… You have to understand, we've considered all the evidence at our disposal. But more than that, as difficult as this is, I feel very strongly that we have no viable option." Woolsey managed.

Mitchell put his hands on his hips and approached the politician.

"You wanna get to the point?!"

"I assure you this may be the hardest decision I'll ever make." He explained. "But I take full responsibility for it. Based on my recommendation, the IOA has proposed to the President that Daniel Jackson's life be terminated…immediately."

Sam gasped as she looked at Woolsey. She felt the shock of the rest of the team.

Finally, she looked over at Jack, sharing a worried look with him.

-

Sam walked into her lab with Jack on her heels. "I can't believe they're even considering this," she said, shaking her head.

"You can't?" Jack asked with a sigh. He pinched the bridge of his nose. "I hate the IOA."

"You won't let them do it, will you?" She asked as tears stung her eyes. "Sir..."

"I'll do my best." He said, seriously.

She inhaled as she nodded. "I'm sure you will."

"And even if I can't find some way to do it legally, I'll figure something else out too."

She tensed as she nodded. "Count me in."

"Are you sure?"

She nodded. "Yeah."

"What would you do with him?" She asked, biting the inside of her cheek. "If it was your choice…"

He sighed. "I would probably lock him in a cell until he started changing back."

"When we couldn't use his plan anymore…" She said with a small sigh.

"Which is why I would hit myself when I realized he was telling the truth."

She sighed as she looked down for a moment. "I'll try to figure out a way we can do it even if he does turn back into himself."

"That is if we can stall Woolsey…"

She swallowed down anger, frustration and bitter tears. "I don't like that man."

"I don't either. But then, I don't like any of them. They're just a bunch of lawyers who are trying to keep from being liable for anything that might go wrong. And they all have something against the military."

She nodded soberly. "I wish they would be willing to trust our judgment. We've got a pretty good track record."

"But it's not perfect, and that's what they want. Perfection."

She sighed. "Well, let's be honest. That's never going to happen."

"Never." He agreed.

"Do you ever get tired of the politics?"

"Always."

"Do you ever wonder if it isn't time to pack your bags and go home?"

He looked over at her for a moment. "Sometimes. What about you?"

"I guess, I figure that if we pack up and go home, we open the door for someone worse with less experience to come and take over." She admitted. "Maybe it sounds a little self-centered, but…"

"No, I understand what you're saying." He said, seriously. "We've already lost Hammond, and while Mitchell and Landry are good at what they do, and catching up on some of the things we learned through the years, it's just…not the same."

"Which I guess is a good and a bad thing."

"Change is usually a combination of good and bad." He admitted.

"Because every situation has pros and cons." She finished.

"Exactly."

She bit her lip. "Well, I should get to the grindstone if I'm going to get something that you can use to stall Woolsey."

He nodded. "Yeah."

"I'll, uh, see you later, I guess." She said, wishing that she could hug him or kiss him or give him some reminder of how much she loved him.

"Sure thing." He said, nodding.

She smiled softly before she gestured out the door with her thumb over her shoulder. "I'm...gonna go now..."

"Think brilliant thoughts." He said with a tender smile.

Finally, she couldn't keep herself from it. "I, uh, I lo-"

"I know." He interrupted with a knowing look in his eye. "Me too."

She managed a grateful smile before she left.

-

Sam stood on the bridge of the Odyssey as Jack walked in. "Hey."

She smiled as she looked over at him. "Hey."

"So...Ori ships."

She tensed. "Yeah."

"But Daniel's back."

She grinned. "Yep."

"And you're in temporary command of the Odyssey."

She smiled. "Actually, I'm just flying it. You're technically in command."

"Then I delegate." He shrugged.

She chuckled soundlessly as she looked out the window of the bridge and sobered.

"What's wrong?"

"Just a little...worried...about the future." She admitted.

"Not you and me..."

She shook her head. "Never."

"I didn't think so," he admitted. "But it never hurts to check..."

She smiled appreciatively before she sobered again. "It's the Ori."

He nodded. "I thought so."

"Maybe the Ori are gone, but...their followers aren't."

"We knew that was a risk," Jack reminded her.

"I know." She admitted.

"Look, we'll come out on top here."

"You don't know that," she said, softly. "We worked hard to get where we did with the Goa'uld, but the Tok'ra practically wiped themselves out to help us, and without the Jaffa, we wouldn't have been able to do anything to challenge the System Lords. And the Replicators? We got lucky."

"And we wouldn't have been able to do either without you, Sam."

"I wasn't the only one who was working on the problem, Jack," she said, looking over. "And you know that."

"Okay, okay, Danny and T helped." He grinned. "And I just pissed 'em off enough to keep them from thinking clearly."

She chuckled softly. "True."

"It wasn't just luck, Sam." He said, more soberly. "It was years of research. Just like with the Ori."

She bit her cheek. "You think so?"

He nodded. "Between you and Daniel, you'll figure something out. I mean, he'll do the ancient text thing, and you'll do the science thing. The others will just back you up."

She sighed as she looked down at the ground.

"What?"

"When I was in that...other universe...I managed to get Merlin's device to take the entire planet out of phase."

"That wasn't in the report. Why wasn't it in the report?"

"Because I didn't want to think about what might happen if I handed Earth's salvation to everyone on a silver platter."

"What do you mean?"

"The other reality...just pulled everyone back to Earth with the intention of leaving the rest of the galaxy to the mercy of the Ori." She sighed. "And I didn't want to see that happen."

"So you decided that you couldn't trust us."

She closed her eyes. "Jack..."

He sighed. "Look, we're not perfect, but we try to make the right decisions."

"I know." She said, seriously. "But..."

"But what, Sam?" Jack asked, somewhat agitatedly.

She sighed. "That experience scared me," she admitted. "And I know things aren't the same, but with the IOA acting the way they are..."

His frustration dissipated almost instantly. "Right."

She studied him closely, and she noticed the understanding written in his eyes.

"I am glad we're safe for now, and that Daniel is back and safe." She admitted, looking over at him.

"Me too."

"What happens when we get back to Earth? Are you staying?"

He shook his head. "I've got meetings with the President." He looked at Sam. "You should probably come and brief him on the experience yourself. I'll make the arrangements."

She nodded. "Okay."

He looked around before he looked back at her. "I want to kiss you, Sam," he admitted.

"I want you to kiss me," she said with a small smile.

"You look fantastic in the starlight."

"In this?" She asked with a nervous smile.

"Hey...there's something sexy about matching outfits," he teased.

She grinned as she leaned in to kiss him.

"Samantha..." Vala said, catching the Colonel and the General in one another's arms. "Oh...you're busy..."

Sam pulled away somewhat embarrassed to be caught in Jack's arms by the alien. "What do you need?"

"Oh, nothing." Vala said, shaking her head. "Go on to what you were doing..."

"That's my plan," Jack muttered under his breath.

Sam tried not to laugh as Vala raised an eyebrow.

"After all, if I had an Air Force general's arms around me, it would be virtually impossible to get me to go anywhere..." Vala said with a chuckle as she walked off the bridge.

Sam chuckled softly as she turned back to Jack. "Where were we?"

"I think we were right about...." He brushed his lips against hers. "Here."

"Kissing on company time?" She asked with a chuckle as he pulled away. "I wonder what my boss is going to say."

He grinned. "Somehow, I don't think he'll have a problem with it."

She reached over, placed her fingers on his chin, before she kissed him again. "I've got to watch the screens, Jack. The ship doesn't fly itself..."

"Maybe not, but I think it should," he teased as she walked back and sat in the Captain's seat on the bridge.

"Power agrees with you," Jack murmured with a small smile.

"Thank you," she blushed.

"Now, I've got to go and get started on that report. See you later." He said, leaning over to kiss her cheek.

"See you," she grinned. "Love you."

"Love you too." He grinned.