Everybody have a great weekend! :)

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

It was hard to believe that it had been less than twenty-four hours since SG-1 had last sat around the table in the briefing room, and the General seemed aware of how worn out the team was, because he kept the briefing short. Sam tried hard to pay attention, but the day's events were beginning to take their toll, and she was having a hard time keeping her mind focused on the General's words.

"How is she now, Colonel?"

Jack toyed with the pen in his hands, working on balancing it on one end as he said simply, "Fraiser says she's going to be fine."

When it became obvious he wasn't going to elaborate, Daniel leaned forward over the table, straightening his glasses as he spoke.

"Jade knows who she is and why she's here, and she seems to know all of us, but she's got a lot of blank spaces that we'll have to help her fill in." When Hammond raised his eyebrows, Daniel blinked a few times and added, "For example, she knows that she was sent here to save the Asgard research, but she can't remember any details about what the research contained or how she learned about it."

Jack let his pen fall to the table with a quiet clatter and raised his eyes. "It's like there's a bunch of little chunks taken out of her memories, General. She's got little pieces floating around that's she's going to have to find a way to fit together."

"She is in need of a stable environment," Teal'c suggested, sharing a look with Jack across the table. "A place where she can feel comfortable and secure as she recovers."

Hammond chuckled quietly to himself. "Let me guess, Colonel. You already have something in mind."

"As a matter of fact, I do, sir."

The General folded his arms over the table and shook his head. "This is a huge responsibility, Jack. Are you sure you're ready for this? And what about Major Carter?" Sam jumped at hearing her name, looking up to see everyone's eyes on her.

"What's your opinion on where your daughter should live, Major?"

Sam blinked sleepily, trying to gather her thoughts as she spoke.

"Jade belongs with us, sir. I don't have a problem with her staying with Colonel O'Neill for now, as long as I'm welcome too."

As soon as the words were out of her mouth, Sam blushed furiously and tried to backpedal.

"I mean…not to stay…just sometimes…wait…"

Giving up, she covered her face with her hands as Jack grinned playfully next to her.

"Just sometimes?" he laughed.

General Hammond did not appear amused, his face sober as he asked seriously, "Do we have a problem here, people?"

Jack's smile disappeared and he sat up a little straighter in his chair.

"No, sir. Sorry, sir."

"Good," the General said firmly, rising up from his chair. "I think we've already got enough to deal with. Dismissed."

There was an awkward silence as the General turned abruptly and left the room, and Jack frowned in annoyance at his retreating figure and crossed his arms.

"Oh, for crying out loud," he grumbled. "This is just stupid. It's not like we don't all know what's going to happen. Me and Carter get married…big deal. It's not like it's going to happen any time soon."

Sam raised her eyebrows at this, and Jack gave her a confused look.

"I mean…unless you-"

"No, no," she assured him, holding up one hand. "I wasn't arguing."

Daniel cleared his throat awkwardly and stood from the table, the others following his lead. Sam paused in the doorway and frowned.

"Actually, you guys go on ahead. I've got to talk to the General about something."

Jack shrugged and left with Teal'c and Daniel, and Sam nervously made her way into Hammond's office, closing the door quietly behind her.

"Can I have a word with you, sir?"

The General gestured for her to sit down, adding his signature to the bottom of the sheet of paper in front of him before nodding to Sam.

"What can I do for you, Major?"

Sam took a deep breath before speaking, deciding to just be completely honest.

"General, we do have a problem."

He didn't seem surprised by her words, leaning back in his chair and smiling slightly.

"I'm aware of that."

Sam trusted Hammond more than almost anyone else she had ever known, but it was still hard for her to speak openly about her feelings for Jack, and her words came out choppy and uncertain.

"Sir…if I just…I mean…normally, there wouldn't be-" She let her breath out in a huff, frustrated with her own nervousness. "If it was only that I had feelings for Colonel O'Neill, there would be no problem, General."

He nodded sympathetically. "But now you have Jade."

"Yes, sir," she sighed, relieved that he understood. "She needs both of us…she deserves to have both of us."

Hammond glanced at the closed door and lowered his voice. "Major, I appreciate your situation, but I cannot consent to a relationship between yourself and Colonel O'Neill."

Sam nodded slowly, looking down at her hands as she spoke her next words.

"I know that, sir. That's why I've decided to resign from the Air Force."

The General sat up sharply and stared at her in disbelief.

"You've what? Have you talked to Colonel O'Neill about this?"

She shook her head and looked up pleadingly.

"Please don't say anything to him, General. I'll tell him when the time is right." She sighed and leaned back in her chair, trying to focus her thoughts as she did her best to explain.

"Sir, you know how important the military is to me, and under normal circumstances, I would never even think of doing this. But…I don't want to make the same mistakes that my father did." She felt a slight ache and swallowed the lump in her throat. "Family should always come first, sir, and Jade should never be made to feel that I chose my career over her."

Hammond shook his head in confusion. "Major, you don't have to resign to be this girl's mother."

She let the breath out of her lungs slowly, giving careful consideration to her next words.

"But I do have to resign to be Colonel O'Neill's wife…sir." She was afraid to look up, focusing on one of the picture frames on the General's desk instead. "If I want us to be a family…for us to raise her together...Please, sir. I've given this a lot of thought."

Hammond said nothing for a very long time, until finally he let out a long sigh, and Sam looked up to see him smiling at her.

"What do you plan to do?"

She shrugged her shoulders and glanced around the room. "I'd like to stay at the SGC if possible. I believe I'm doing the most good here, with this program." She ran her thumb over the seam on her pants and kept her eyes down as she added, "And you know, sir, SG-1 has two civilians already…"

The General chuckled quietly and shook his head. "We'll have to discuss that with Colonel O'Neill. Let me suggest that you take the time to talk to him about this before you make any final decisions. I'd like all of you to take a few days leave before your next mission. You don't have to decide anything right now."

Sam thanked the General and left feeling relieved, slowly making her way down to the elevator. She knew it was unlikely that she would change her mind, though she knew that's exactly what the Colonel would try to get her to do.

As she waited for the elevator to make it down, Sam slipped Jade's letter out of her pocket, re-reading the words that had been hurriedly scrawled on the wrinkled paper. There was a warning about her father, to get him to a doctor after "Dakara", whatever that was. There were a few bits of advice about her personal life, the oddest being the suggestion to "Tell Pete to take a hike," and one final message at the bottom. Sam eyed the words with a smile as she thought about the General's suggestion to have a talk with Jack, wondering if, just maybe, she should take Jade's advice.

At the very bottom of the page, her daughter had written two words in large, thick letters, underlining the suggestion with several heavy, black lines.

Go fishing!