Jacob Carter found a surprising scene when he walked into the living room on Christmas morning. His daughter was asleep in the arms of her boyfriend. Her head leaned against his chest, and his chin rested on top of her head. The only reason Jacob didn't immediately launch into overprotective father mode was that Jack had proven himself to be trustworthy so far, plus both of them were fully clothed.

As if Jack could feel Jacob's eyes on him, he woke up. Remaining motionless as his black ops training had taught him, Jack directed his gaze to Jacob and offered a small smile. Jacob returned his smile, which Jack took to mean that he was safe from any Carter backlash for the time being.

Jack watched Jacob leave the room and go towards the kitchen. Shortly, Jack heard the noise that he had come to associate with breakfast in the Carter household. Sam stirred at the noise, and Jack looked at her closed eyes which began to flutter open as she attempted to place her surroundings.

"Good morning," Jack whispered, not wanting to startle her.

"Morning," Sam offered to him along with a kiss on his cheek. "Why didn't you wake me up?" Sam asked.

"You looked comfortable," Jack explained, "And it's never bothered me to wake up with a beautiful woman in my arms."

"Don't get too used to it," Sam told him.

"I won't," Jack promised understanding the underlying message that things wouldn't be going farther than a little snuggling on the couch.

Eventually, Sam pulled away from Jack and headed to the bathroom.

Jack decided he might as well get it over with so he went to the kitchen where he was sure Jacob was waiting with a lecture.

"Merry Christmas," Jacob said, handing Jack a cup of coffee.

"Merry Christmas," Jack responded and waited for the other shoe to drop.

"How did you sleep last night?" Jacob asked with a knowing smile.

"Slightly uncomfortable, but it was the best sleep I've had in a long, long time."

Silence ensued. "Just say what you're going to say Jacob and get it over with," Jack pleaded.

"There's nothing for me to say, son. Sam's old enough to make her own decisions, and I know where she stands on stuff like that. I've said what I need to say, and until something changes between you and my daughter, you won't hear much else from me," Jacob explained.

"So as long as Sam's happy, I can quit fearing for my life," Jack simplified.

"Yes."

Jack made a show of wiping his forehead and sighing in relief. "That's good to know."

----

They were all sitting in the living room preparing to open presents when Sam's cell phone rang. She looked at the display for a few seconds in confusion before answering.

"Carter."

"Hey there beautiful," said the familiar voice which made Sam smile.

"Hello handsome," she replied in lighthearted voice while Jacob and Jack traded confused glances as they attempted to figure out who would be calling Sam on Christmas Day. And more importantly who she would be addressing with such easy familiarity.

"Are you all alone for Christmas again this year?" the voice asked.

"No," Sam replied, "I'm actually at Dad's house with Jack."

"Really? That's great, Sam. Why don't you put me on speaker so I can talk to everyone," the voice requested.

"Okay," Sam said as she pushed the speaker button on her phone and scooted closer to Jack so that he could be heard on the phone. "Dad, get over here, someone wants to say 'hi.'"

Jacob joined his daughter on the couch, still confused as to who it could be.

"Hey, can everyone hear me?" the familiar voice asked.

"Sure can, Cam," Jacob replied with a smile on his face, happy to hear from one of his daughter's oldest friends.

"General, I'm glad to hear that Sam's spending Christmas with you this year. She needs someone to talk some sense into her for even thinking about dating that Colonel O'Neill," Cam said in a joking tone.

"Hey!" Sam and Jack said at the same time.

"I'm sitting right here Captain Mitchell, in case you forgot," Jack reminded the man.

"I'm not too concerned sir, as long as Jacob is also sitting there. He's always liked me. Oh, and by the way Sam, you can't order me around any more. That promotion I've been hoping for came through, I'm Major Mitchell now," Cam announced.

They each offered their own congratulations to Cam before Sam made her own announcement. "I'm really sorry to be the bearer of bad news, Cam," she stated.

"Why? What's wrong?" he asked, suddenly worried.

"Well, you know how you said I couldn't order you around anymore," Sam questioned.

"Yeah, we're both majors," he offered.

Sam had a huge grin on her face. "I was promoted. You're talking to Lieutenant Colonel Samantha Carter, so you're still stuck following my orders," she proclaimed.

Cam's groaning made Sam laugh.

"I'm sorry son," Jacob said, displaying his own smile, "I know how much you were looking forward to not having to take orders from Sam, but some things just aren't meant to be."

Cam offered an exaggerated sigh. "Oh well, I guess I'll just have to take what I can get, because things could be a lot worse," Cam claimed.

"Oh, and how could things get worse," wondered Jack aloud.

"Sam could be my CO," Cam stated with a hint of laughter in his voice.

"According to you, Cam, according to you," she said, joining the others in laughter.

"I have to go because other people need to use the phone, but I just wanted to call and wish you a Merry Christmas, Sam, and seriously, congratulations on the promotion, you really deserve it," Cam said as he bid them all good-bye.

"Well, that was a surprise," Jack said after Sam hung up.

"Not really," Sam claimed, "Cam and I have traded phone calls on Christmas Day since we were in the Academy together. We went through flight school together, and he was my wing man. There was an incident when he clipped my wing, and while I was able to land my plane safely, he had to take the nylon letdown. Our many experiences together forged a bond between us, and we've made a habit of calling each other on Christmas Day."

"Huh. Is that 'incident' why he's a rank behind you despite you both being the same age?" Jack asked.

"It's part of it, at least," Sam explained. "We were flying a low pattern, when he had to eject, his chute didn't have time to fully deploy, so he got banged up pretty bad on the landing, and we weren't in, shall we say, a good area of town which put our whole mission at risk. Luckily Cam was quickly retrieved, but it took several months before he could return to flight status. He was back for six months when he was driving home from the D.C. 4th of July celebration. He had already dropped me off at my apartment and was headed back to base when he got sideswiped by a drunk driver. He spent almost another year recovering from that crash. While he was in the hospital and rehab, I was still active duty and able to work on some high profile projects resulting in my promotion. If things had been different, I would have been the one hurt both times."

"You can't control what happens Sam, sometimes things just do," Jack reminded her, thinking about Charlie's death.

"He doesn't blame you nor has he ever," Jacob softly reminded her.

"It was so hard to see someone that I love like a brother hurting though, Dad. Cam became my replacement for Mark, my big brother, and every time I get recognized, I hate thinking about how he was laid up while I was getting promoted."

Jack wrapped his arms around Sam and pulled her to him. "If I can stop blaming myself for Charlie's death, you should have no problem putting your big brain to work on convincing yourself that Cam's accidents aren't your fault," Jack requested.

Jacob wondered who Charlie was, but judging by the current situation, now was not the time to be asking that question, so he snuck out of the room, leaving Jack to handle a now crying Sam.

Jack didn't really have any way to make Sam feel better other than holding her close and waiting on her to let out emotion that had obviously been bottled up for a long time. When her tears were gone and her breathing returned to normal, Sam tried to pull away from Jack, but he refused to loosen his grip.

Sam apologized, "I'm sorry for getting your shirt all wet."

Jack looked down to see that Sam's tears had indeed created a wet patch on his shirt. "Oh well," he shrugged, "It'll dry."

At that point the doorbell rang, signaling the arrival of their guests. Sam looked at Jack and wordlessly asked if he would mind getting the door while she pulled herself together. He headed for the door while she headed upstairs.

Jack opened the door to reveal Kawalsky, Ferretti, and Hank Landry. "Come on in, guys," he said.

Jacob walked into the living room as soon as the coats had been removed. "Kawalsky and Ferretti, I'm glad that you could make it." Jacob turned to Hank and extended his hand, "You must be Hank Landry. I'm Jacob Carter."

Hank shook Jacob's hand. "It's nice to meet you General. I know absolutely nothing about you, but if your daughter is anything like you, we'll get along fine."

"We're nothing alike, Hank," Sam called as she came down the stairs, "other than our military backgrounds."

"That's okay Sam, I'm sure that Hank has plenty of good things to tell me about Jack, so I'm sure we'll get along just fine," Jacob said while glancing at Hank with a hint of conspiracy in his eyes.

"Is there any way that I can get out of this," Jack loudly stage whispered to Sam.

"I doubt it," Sam replied in the same style. "But remember Dad actually likes you, so the stories are purely for his own entertainment and your embarrassment."

"He does?" Jack asked his voice returning to normal.

"I do?" Jacob asked, surprised that Sam would make that assumption.

"Yeah, he does, otherwise he never would have let you stay here. Even Cam got relegated to a BOQ [Bachelor Officer's Quarters after the first night," Sam explained giving a pointed look to her father.

"Okay, so he's not the worst guy that Sam has ever brought home," Jacob admitted.

Sam wanted to put a quick stop to where this discussion was headed. "I'm hungry. Is lunch about ready?"

Pretty soon, all of them were sitting down in the dining room. The table was piled high with the traditional Christmas food, and everyone dug in. It was much later when the last person, Kawalsky, set down his fork and declared, "I can't eat another bite."

Jacob surveyed the table and offered a small chuckle. "I'm glad I listened to Sam when she told me that you guys would eat enough to feed a platoon."

"Well sir," Ferretti said, "It's not often that we get this kind of food, and considering where we're headed in a couple of days, I doubt we'll be seeing this kind of a spread until we're home again."

Kawalsky and Hank nodded their agreement.

"How long are you scheduled to be deployed?" Jacob questioned.

"Four months, but you know how that goes," Hank offered.

All present nodded their agreement, understanding perfectly well that four months was a rough estimate. The Air Force would keep them there for as long as their services were needed.

"Where are you guys stationed?" Jack asked, knowing full well that their assignment would take them away from this location.

"It's classified," Hank stated, not wanting one of his subordinates to give anything away that they shouldn't.

Jack knew exactly what kind of assignments these men would be receiving-the ones that no one would ever know had occurred which was something which he was very familiar.

"Well, if D.C. is a stop on your return trip, make sure you let me know so I can cook again and celebrate your safe return," Jacob offered.

"That's not necessary General," Ferretti insisted.

"Nonsense son," Jacob replied, "Any friend of Sam's is welcome here, especially when it comes to celebrating his safe return from behind enemy lines. Besides," Jacob added, "I'm sure that you will be much more forthcoming with information when Jack can't hear you."

Jack's eyes opened wide in shock, and he sent his best glare at the three men. "I'm sure they will, Dad, but they would do well to remember that I have my own stories to tell about their past."

"That may be so, son," Jacob replied with a knowing smile, "But none of the stories that you have about them are worth anything to me."

"For cryin' out loud," Jack said which caused everyone to share a laugh.

----

Sam, Jack, and Jacob said their final good-byes to Hank, Ferretti, and Kawalsky as Sam and Jack had an early hop back to Colorado Springs. While Sam had only recently met the three men, each of them had quickly found a special spot in her heart. They were given very specific instructions from Jacob that they were to call him the next time they were in D.C. Sam and Jack insisted the same thing if the threesome made it out to Colorado. They all wished the men the best and safest deployment possible, and Sam graced each of the men with a hug and a quick kiss on the cheek, much to their embarrassment.

Now that they were alone, Sam, Jack, and Jacob exchanged Christmas presents.

Jacob began by handing Sam a large, carefully wrapped box. "This isn't something new, but I've been holding onto it until it was the right time to give it you. I think now is that time," he explained.

Sam delicately pulled the wrapping paper off the package to reveal a large cardboard box. Curious now, she opened the box to reveal a wooden box. The box was obviously hand carved. "Dad?" Sam asked.

Jacob took the wooden box out of its careful packaging and placed it on Sam's lap. "I gave this to your mother not long after I first met her. I've never looked inside, but in a letter she wrote me, she said that she wanted you to have this box and that I would know when it was the right time to give it to you. I think now is that time. I know your mom left some very special things in that box, so you should probably wait until you're at home to open it," Jacob explained.

Tears welled up in Sam's eyes. "She told me that she had something to give me one day but never said what 'it' was, I guess this is it." Sam held the box while memories briefly welled up, then she carefully set it aside and looked to her father to watch him open his two presents.

Jacob took slightly less care than Sam in unwrapping the present from her. Inside he found a framed picture of the two of them arriving at the hotel for the formal party that had followed Sam's promotion to LC. After crushing his daughter in a hug and commenting on how beautiful she looked, Jacob opened an envelope that had to have come from Jack.

He turned his eyes to Jack and asked, "What is this for?"

Jack took the airline voucher out and explained. "This is my way of ensuring that you make it out to Colorado Springs some time this spring. Neither of us can really get away to visit, but you, on the other hand, should have no problem finding a week to come out and visit. When I cancelled my flight to Minnesota, the only thing they could do was offer me a travel voucher. Since I know that I won't be making use of it, I figured you wouldn't mind a more comfortable ride than a hop on a military plane. I figured if I asked really nice and promised to cook some steak, I might even be able to convince you to give a special lecture to my cadets," Jack offered.

Jacob looked at Sam and asked, "Did you know about this?"

Sam nodded, "Jack checked with me to make sure I was okay with it first, if that's what you mean."

"Well, then I guess I'll have to call you and make plans for a visit to the Springs sometime this spring," Jacob relented.

The two Carters turned to Jack as he tore into his present much like a young child, ripping all of the wrapping paper right off. Jacob's box held a book with beautiful pictures of the stars. Jack looked questioningly at Jacob.

Jacob's only words were "Sam suggested it." Jack offered them both a grateful smile as he turned back to the envelope which had been tucked into the box.

Opening it, he found two tickets and a piece of paper.

This certificate entitles the bearer to one date at the Colorado Springs Observatory, making use of the enclosed tickets. Said date also includes dinner at an undisclosed location.

Jack smiled and gathered Sam in a hug, thanking her for her thoughtfulness and already looking forward to their future date.

The two men now turned to Sam to watch her open her last present, the one from Jack.

For Jacob, this would be the true test of Jack's competence.

Sam opened the box to find an envelope. Wondering just what Jack had gotten her, she squealed when she opened it to find two tickets to a production of "Singin' in the Rain" in Denver.

"How did you know," she asked in amazement, still looking at the tickets in disbelief.

Jack squirmed slightly under her gaze. "Cam mentioned something, so I went and got us tickets to the opening performance," Jack admitted.

"Wow! Thank you," she said, giving Jack a kiss that showed just how much she appreciated his gift.

Jacob watched the couple and wondered if his visit to Colorado Springs would serve more than one purpose. Regardless, Jacob decided that as soon as Jack and Sam were gone, he needed to make it a priority to find out a little bit more about Colonel Jack O'Neill, especially who Charlie was that he seemed to make the two of them able to relate.

----

Later that night, Jack and Sam were sitting on the couch again, in much the same position as Jacob had found them that morning.

"I've been thinking about something," Jack said.

Sam turned her head to look at him. "Really? You've been thinking," she asked her eyes gleaming with laughter.

"It's been known to happen," he retorted, letting laughter light his eyes. "Seriously though, what mission were you on with Cam that had you in a 'bad area of town?'

"It's classified," Sam began, "The story we are allowed to tell is that it was a training mission for the Gulf, though most people know that's not the truth. It was after that mission that they decided my stint as a pilot was over and I was sent to the labs. I guess it was a blessing in disguise because I was able to finish my doctorate in record time. That earned me my promotion to Major 5 years ago. Then I got moved from one classified project to another until my most recent one which I've been working on for almost 3 years now, and this one is a dream come true - as close as I'll ever get to NASA," Sam admitted.

"So you never really did that much flying," Jack speculated.

"Not really, that was more Cam's department. I'm still cleared to fly, but the time that we went up right after Thanksgiving was my first time other than regular evals since Cam had to eject. Cam likes to make it sound like I'm a really great pilot, but I was in the program for other reasons, not that I can tell you what those are," she quickly added.

"I figured that," Jack accepted. "Your past is almost as classified as mine, except mine is probably significantly darker. I did the whole black-ops thing for a long time."

"So I guess we won't be talking too much about work, huh?" Sam said.

"Guess not," Jack said with a smile, "But I can think of better things for us to do than talk," he explained as he leaned down to capture Sam's lips in a kiss.

They were so caught up in the kiss that neither Sam nor Jack noticed Jacob come into the room until he gave a small cough which caused the couple to immediately break apart.

Sam's cheeks glowed bright red with embarrassment whereas Jack refused to hide his 'cat got the canary grin'. Jacob just shook his head in disbelief. Then, he leaned down and gave Sam a kiss on the cheek. "Good night Sammie," he said.

Jacob looked at the couple before he left the room and stated, "You might have forgotten, but the beds in this house are significantly more comfortable than the couch. Separate beds," he clarified, sending a meaningful glare in Jack's direction.

The look of horror on Jack's face was priceless enough that Jacob did an abrupt about face and left the room, heading for his own bedroom so that he could laugh without the chance of being heard.