AN: Just to round things up and get us back on track...
EPILOGUE
It took a long time for things to settle down after Jack and Sam's loss.
Though nobody actually was, rows broke out over who was to blame and Jack threatened to bring charges against Doctor Frasier for her deception and her fraud. Naturally they never came to pass because Sam didn't want that and eventually he recognised that the doctor was only trying to do the right thing by her closest friend.
They were firm friends again by the time Cassie made up her mind that she wanted to go to college in California. She was intent on studying medicine, like her mother and Janet decided that while she was grown up, she wasn't that grown up and started making preparations to move with her. She knew exactly what college med students' parties were like.
Sam took a six month leave-of-absence to give herself some time to adjust and Jack, having taken a few personal days while Sam was still in the infirmary, demanded to take all of the leave he was owed so that he could be with her. Naturally this caused a commotion up the line but General Hammond stepped on the recommendation of the President and sorted it all out. Much to Walter's delight he even temporarily returned to run the SGC alongside Colonel Makepeace while Jack took the time he needed.
Hammond then offered the couple, for that's what they were slowly learning to be now that Sam was on extended leave, a surprise solution to their problem of not being able to be together if and when she decided to return to work. He was retiring and wanted to recommend Jack to replace him as head of Home-World Security. The job came with an extra star and the added bonus of Jack no longer being Sam's direct CO.
One, General Hank Landry was more than willing to take over the running of the SGC and Hammond insisted he came highly recommended. As for SG-1, the young and ever eager Colonel Cameron Mitchell had earned his right to try out for the spot, leaving Sam the freedom to choose whether or not she wanted to return to SG-1 in a non-lead role. (An option that had not previously been available, it was lead SG-1 or nothing so sayeth the big dogs).
She dithered for a while (especially after Daniel and Teal'c moved on to do their own thing.) between the fast-track desk job in DC where Jack was going to be, rejoining SG-1 or becoming Head of the R&D in Nevada. Then a new threat broke out across the galaxy and they all found themselves being sucked back in. It seemed other work just could not compare to saving your home planet and billions of others over and over again.
Much to Daniel's despair a new face arrived on the scene in the form of Vala Mal Doran from the planet Kook, he claimed. His friends reckoned the archaeologist complained a little too much about the tall, attractive, dark haired woman with a personality the size of an Ori super-gate. They decided to watch them closely. Surely it wouldn't take them nearly nine years and a tragedy to figure it all out.
And so things settled down for the group of friends and their new lives found an old routine. SG-1 travelled the galaxy and Jack learned to beat the politicians at their own game. Atlantis came knocking once in a while and there was even talk of launching a computer game to find a new genius for an as yet secret project. Jack could not for the life of him figure out what they wanted another explode-a-brain for. Surely three super-brains were enough for any galaxy, two galaxies as it happened. I mean they already had Carter, the up and coming Hailey and that allergic-to-citrus-jerkwad MacKay. The Pegasus Galaxy was always going to be way, way too close for someone who was that interested in his Carter.
But no matter, no doubt all would become clear in time. Until then he would just have to trust that all of his guys knew what they were at and that they were doing the right thing.
AN: And so that's a wrap. Thank you all so much for your reviews, suggestions and support. I hope you enjoyed my take on things and I'll try to get something else out of my muddled brain before long, perhaps something a little more up beat next time. Cheers again guys and I'll catch ya later Space-monkeys ;)