He knocked softly on the door, but no one answered and he didn't hear any sounds coming from inside. Making up his mind, Jack tried the doorknob, which, surprisingly, wasn't locked and opened the door. Peeking inside, it took his eyes a few seconds to adjust to the dim light, but he could see a bulge on the bed and squinted. Not able to make out something without more light he flicked the switch, wincing himself as the light on the wall opposite blinded him for a moment. Thankfully, it wasn't too bright, and just gave him enough light to glance around.

"Daddy?"

He heard a small voice and rustling of fabric, before Jack saw his daughter slip out of the bed. "Hey honey," he bent to pick her up as she walked up to him.

Snuggling closer, Milou yawned. "Late," she mumbled, resting her head on his shoulder.

"I know I'm late and I'm sorry… where's Carter?" Jack asked, as he rubbed slow, soothing circles on her back. He straightened her PJs as his eyes followed the direction her hand was pointing. Carter was still sound asleep, facing them, he noticed. Her long hair untied, covering the pillow and framing her face, while the blankets had shifted the moment Milou had slipped out of bed.

Milou's cold nose was pressing against his neck as she threw her arms around his neck. "Sam's asleep."

"Yeah," Jack cleared his throat and gave his daughter a smile. "Yeah, I can see that, bet she was tired, huh." The cold nose rubbing against his neck told him she was nodding her head and he gently squeezed her leg, before turning his head. "Why don't we get your things and go home?"

Milou leaned back and frowned at her father, after his whispering. "Why?"

"I'm tired and so are you," Jack whispered again. "Time to get you to your bed, sweetie."

"Can't we stay?"

"Um," Jack started, his eyes automatically drawn to Carter's sleeping form. "No, we should get home."

"Daddy, you can sleep here," Milou tried again, pointing at the bed.

If only… "No," he replied, grabbing her bag and checking the contents for her things, including the tights and dress she'd been wearing.

"What about Sammie?"

"We'll just let her sleep, she's tired," Jack smiled at her, walking back to the table to find a paper and pen to leave Carter a message. When did she start calling Carter 'Sammie'?

"Wait," Milou protested, whining and wiggling in his hold.

"Milou," he warned her.

"Poesje," she replied in a hurt tone.

Rolling his eyes, Jack unzipped the bag again and glanced inside. "Where is it?"

"In bed," was all the warning she gave, before pushing against his shoulder.

It was obvious to Jack she wanted to get her stuffed animal, but he wouldn't risk her waking Carter. He'd seen the dark circles and fatigue in her face earlier; she was exhausted and finally asleep at a decent hour. "We'll pick it up tomorrow," he mumbled, shifting her in his arms so he could write the note.

"No, I want it," she protested, still wiggling.

"You'll wake Carter," he admonished her in a harsh whisper.

"But Daddy!" Milou whined, throwing her head back.

Closing his eyes, Jack counted to ten. She's tired and thus a bit whiny, that's all."I'll make sure to pick it up tomorrow," he repeated slowly. Unable to write something, he placed her on the floor to get his hands free. Leaning forward, he grabbed the piece of paper and pen.

Milou immediately ran over to the bed, climbed on it and crawled under the covers to find her stuffed animal.

Hearing the familiar sound of rustling fabric, Jack turned around. "Milou!" he whispered in an angry tone. His daughter's blonde head came from under the covers, brown eyes with a guilty conscience looking at him. "Sam's lying on Poesje," she said in an upset voice.

"Of course she is," Jack mumbled, not believing what was happening in front of him. "Milou, stop it."

"But–"

"No," he spoke in a louder tone and held up his hand. "I'll bet Carter wants to keep Poesje to stay with her tonight."

Ceasing her activities, Milou sat back on the covers, pondering her father's words. Looking from Sam to Daddy, she wasn't sure what to do. She wanted her kitten with her, but Daddy was mad at her and Sammie was asleep, she didn't want to wake her.

"Trust me, it won't mind," he continued, referring to the stuffed animal. "Carter will be happy and have a good night's sleep, and you'll probably fall asleep as soon as your head hits the pillow, so you won't even miss it."

"Okay," she replied, bobbing her head slowly. Throwing a last glance at her kitten, she turned to her father.

Jack sat down in the chair to write the note, while watching his daughter out of the corner of his eye. She was still sitting on the covers, shoulders a bit sagged and pouting. Well, at least Carter is still asleep, he mused. His hand hovered over the paper while he was trying to think of something to write. Eventually, he decided to simply go with a "Thanks Carter" and signed it. He saw movement on his left and when he turned, he sighed as Milou had crawled back under the covers. "Milou," he started.

"Daddy, I'm c-cold," she whispered with chattering teeth, pulling the covers around her head.

He had to admit it was a bit chilly in the room and he was wearing jeans and a pullover, while all she was wearing was a pink sleeveless top and blue PJ pants and was barefoot. He remembered Carter never seemed too bothered with the cold on their missions, unless they were stuck in an ice cave. She probably hadn't been here in a while – although there seemed to be some of her clothes and personal items – and decided to stay the night here for Milou and didn't have the time or just forgot to turn on the heating. A quick glance over his daughter's head told him Carter was still asleep and he shrugged. "Fine, you'll stay under the covers while I'll get all your things, but don't wake Carter," he made a vague hand gesture at the stuff on the table as he whispered.

Milou beamed at him and made herself even more comfortable, and because she was still shivering, she snuggled closer to Sam's warm body while her dad was packing her bag.

Bending down, Jack picked up the missing tights and stuffed them in the Hello Kitty-pack, not even bothering to fold them or the dress that was already in the pack. He felt something tug at his heart as he glanced over to the bed, where Carter had thrown an arm around his daughter, who'd cuddled up to her. Great, now he was jealous of his daughter!He knew it wasn't just that, it was the entire picture; Carter – in bed – with his daughter, a protective arm around her, all snuggled up together. It just seemed so right!

He shook his head – it was probably instinct from raising the cop's kids – placed his knees on the floor as he saw a few lost crayons under the chair and reached for them. Fumbling in the backpack, he found the crayon holder and placed them in their original spot. Leaning on his hands, he made sure he hadn't forgotten any and placed the box back in the bag. Sitting back on his knees, he was about to stand up when he hit his head against the table. Hard. "Crap!"

Frowning, Milou leaned on one arm to sit up to get a better view and hissed at him. "Ssh!"

Jack rubbed the back of his head while getting up, and muttered a curse under his breath. He waved Milou's protest down with his hand and picked up the bag. It seemed he had everything now, he thought. Leaning over the table, he pulled a few sheets of paper towards himself and looked. Apparently, his daughter had been getting drawing lessons from Carter, he mused as his finger traced the stick figure with the yellow hair. Unsure what to make of it – it could be Carter, Ilse, Milou herself or even Nathan with too long and a bit too light hair – he placed it back to its previous position. Perhaps she'd drawn something for Carter, if Milou wanted to take it with her she would've told him, right?

He glanced back as he heard rustling of the sheets and saw Milou watching him, as Carter shifted on the bed. Perhaps he'd been a bit loud when he'd hit his head? As if hypnotized, he kept watching her; the way the corner of her mouth quirked up a bit, how she rubbed her nose sleepily and how the sheets slid off her shoulder, revealing tantalizing pale, freckled skin… Definitely time to go, he said to himself as he zipped Milou's pack up and walked over to the door, Milou's jacket in hand. "C'mon, time to go," he beckoned Milou with his hand as he whispered.

Throwing the covers off herself, Milou took one look back at Sam – who was completely covering her kitten by now, its tail the only proof he was actually squashed beneath her – and shrugged to herself. She leaned forward and pressed a kiss on her cheek, before scooting over to the edge of the bed.

Feeling the slight pressure on her cheek, Sam raised her hand and touched it. Blinking a few times, she woke up completely and stretched, shivering as she felt the cold temperature around her. "Milou?" She mumbled, seeing the little girl sitting on the edge. "Come here, honey, it's," she looked over her shoulder and saw it wasn't even midnight yet, "late, you need your sleep." As do I, she mused, surprised she'd fallen asleep so early. Especially because she'd hardly been able to sleep properly lately and the only reason she'd changed in her tank top and shed her clothes to crawl in bed with the girl was because Milou had wanted her to while Sam read her a story… "Who turned on the light?" She frowned, as she noticed the light on the wall.

"Sammie?" Milou turned towards her, a patented O'Neill grin on her face.

"Yeah?" Sam yawned, sat up and stretched again. Damn, it was really cold!She shivered involuntarily and reached down for the covers. "It's cold, get under the covers, Milou." She pulled out Milou's kitten and placed it in between their pillows on the small bed. She'd found an extra pillow in the closet and had given it to her, since she was so small and hardly took any space on the bunk. Afraid the girl had fallen off the bed Sam sat on her knees and scooted over to the edge.

Milou had slipped from the bed and smiled at her father, who was still standing next to the door. Turning on her heels, she cocked her head to the side. "I go, Sammie."

Shaking her head, to get rid of the last remnants of sleep, Sam frowned. "What, where?"

"Daddy," Milou replied, still smiling.

Running a hand through her long hair, Sam blinked a few times before following the girl's gaze. "Sir," she started, before clearing her throat. "Um… Sir, I didn't see you."

Jack had to tear his gaze away from her charming appearance and gave her a small smile. He pretended to cough in order to keep his composure and nodded. "I figured as much, Carter."

Sam broke her gaze free from his, to take in his appearance; the same stonewashed jeans and dark pullover he'd been wearing earlier. "How did it go?"

Confused, Jack's brow creased. Then he remembered what she was referring to. "Fine, Garshaw and Selmak are talking to Landry now," he replied. Unable to ignore her sleep attire, Jack let his eyes wander again… Damn, it had been over a decade since he'd seen that sweet little tank top number and now she had to wear it?He lowered his gaze, only to come across her bare midriff and see that she wasn't wearing anything else besides that tank top and blue panties.

"Daddy?"

Thank God for children, Jack said to himself as his eyes shifted back to Milou, who was standing between him and the bed. "I've got your jacket; you don't need to get dressed."

"Okay," Milou nodded.

Aware of her undressed state, Sam quickly slipped her legs under the covers as she felt a flush forming in her neck. "Don't you want your kitten?"

"No," she shook her head. "Daddy said you keep it for tonight. Poesje help you sleep."

Touched, Sam bit her lip and just nodded as her gaze went back to the General, who was smiling bashfully at her. It didn't prevent her from blushing. "Oh no, that's not necessary, you should take it with you."

"Sure? Daddy said you tired." Milou mused aloud.

"I'm sure."

Jack stayed quiet as he was fascinated with the flush spreading over Carter's face and neck, making her look even more beautiful, despite her bed hair – which he thought was adorable. He had to stuff his hands in his pockets to prevent himself from doing something stupid, as he noticed the flush disappearing… under her tank top, following the ball chain which held her dog tags. He'd never really thought dog tags were attractive – until he met the then-Captain Samantha Carter and had seen those tags go there.

Even after all these years, sometimes he was still haunted by those dog tags at night. He was jealous of dog tags, for crying out loud! He cleared his throat and tried to look away as she shivered from the cold. Dog tags… That seductive chain doesn't just contain her dog tags, also her wedding ring, you idiot! Jack shrugged to himself, ignoring that little voice. He swallowed hard as he saw Carter reach out her hand containing the stuffed animal for Milou and his attention was drawn to her dog tag chain again… more precise: where it disappeared under her neckline. How the fabric of that sweet little tank top number stretched over her full breasts – who said military women didn't have curves? – and showed her hard nipples. "Just the cold," he muttered to himself, finally able to tear his gaze away from the barely dressed Colonel.

"Sir?"

"What?"

"I thought you said something, Sir," Sam frowned, pulling up the covers as she shivered again.

"Nothing, Carter. Nothing at all," he smirked. "Good to go, Milou?"

Milou nodded as she stepped in front of him, stuffing her kitten into her backpack before holding out her hands for her jacket. "Daddy?"

Jack bent down and helped her into her jacket. He frowned as Carter scooted over to the edge of the bunk. She'd better not get out of bed dressed like that!"Carter?"

"I should probably check on my computer, Sir," Sam mumbled, trying to get one of the sheets from the bed to cover her body. She wasn't embarrassed about her body, she just didn't want to parade around in front of Jack O'Neill, because the things his presence did to her body… Well, they weren't appropriate, especially not with his daughter present.

"No, you just stay in bed, Carter," Jack replied, in a harsher tone than he'd meant, but he wasn't sure he could handle her out of bed. "No need to check on your computer, I was just in your lab and everything was fine."

"With all due respect, Sir," Sam frowned, "but you wouldn't know if something was wrong until it blew up in your face. Sir."

Milou giggled at that and ducked her head, trying to hide it from them.

"Hey, no making fun of me," Jack playfully poked her in the side, which only made her giggle harder. "You just get some sleep, Carter," Jack made a dismissive gesture towards her. "Because, with all due respect, Colonel," he imitated her, "you look like you could use it."

Sam bit her lip and shrugged. "That's just the thing, Sir, I'm not sleepy anymore."

"Nice try, but you're still staying here."

"But Sir-"

"Do I have to make it an order, Carter?"

Sam rolled her eyes, certain he couldn't see it from where he was standing and had to bite back a smile as she saw the sympathizing look Milou sent her. Almost as if the girl had experience with the General acting like… a general. "No, Sir."

"Maybe Daddy can wead you a stowy," Milou offered, smiling.

"Ah…"

"That's not really necessary, sweetie," Sam hastily replied. "Besides, there's no time for that," she continued as the girl pouted. "You two have to get home, remember?"

"Right," Milou answered, thinking. "Daddy can tuck you in and kiss you g'night. It weally works," she beamed, proud of her idea.

Sam's blush returned with a vengeance; just thinking about the General 'tucking' her in and kissing her… "Um," was all she could utter.

Clearing his throat again, Jack quickly looked at Milou. "Why don't you tuck her in and give her a kiss, okay?" Not that he didn't want to, but he doubted she'd appreciate it and he was pretty sure it wouldn't help him sleep, at all! He gently shoved her towards the bed.

Milou shrugged and told Sam to lie down and pulled the covers over her. "G'night Sammie," she whispered, before pressing a kiss to her forehead. "Sweet dreams."

"Sweet dreams to you too," Sam replied, smiling at the girl.

"Yeah, g'night Carter," Jack nodded awkwardly from his position at the door. "We should get going, it's getting late and-"

"Of course, Sir, I'm sure you're tired as well. Good night," she replied, just as awkward.

"Right," Jack picked up Milou's bag and took her hand. He looked at his watch and opened the door. "I still have to call Ilse," he muttered to himself, all of a sudden reminded that he hadn't been able to call her and talk to her and the twins all day.

"Bye Sammie," Milou waved before following her father into the corridor.

"Bye," Sam gave her a wan smile, as she had heard the General's words. How could she have forgotten?She turned on her side as the door closed and the light was turned off, confident of another sleepless night. As she closed her eyes, she thought about what she was going to do. Could she keep working here if the General was transferring here? She had wanted more hours and General Landry and the President had made her a few offers she wasn't sure she could refuse; Atlantis, Area 51, Head of the Science Department at the SGC and that were just the big ones. Perhaps she should talk to her friends – all of them – about it, ask him about the specifics of his transfer, because all she knew he was going to transfer and a new office was being prepped here. Yeah, another sleepless night!