The staff of the SGC stood at attention. Jack and Hank stood with Cam to award Vala a silver medal of Valor for saving Sam's life even though it meant they had to go back for her. Concluding that, Hank called Sam up to the Gate platform that was currently serving double duty as a dais.
"For her continued dedication and heroism, it is my great honor to promote Lt. Colonel Samantha Carter to full rank of Colonel with all rights and obligations therein." Hank told the assembled members of the SGC and saluted Sam crisply. Behind him Jack and Cam saluted her as well, Jack's face serious and impassive, Cam looking pleased. She should have made full bird before him years ago.
Sam's posture went from attention to full on brimming with alacrity attention as she saluted her commanding officers. "Thank you sirs." She said clearly with a beaming grin for the group of them.
Cam and Hank stood on either side of her and switched out her oak leaves for her eagles on her shoulders. She looked past them at Jack whose expression was impassive but his eyes spoke volumes for how proud he was of her.
Cam went back to the podium with a wave of Jack's hand and smiled at everyone. "Unlike Colonel Carter's last CO, I am not a man of few words." He waited for the chuckles to die down. "I've had the pleasure of being awarded the medal of honor from Colonel Carter personally. She's saved our collective asses more times than we can count. I can't imagine anyone more deserving of the promotion to full bird." He said and smiled when Sam bit her lip to hide a smile. "Congratulations Colonel Carter. This has been a long time in coming." He said and stepped away to shake her hand then salute her again.
An hour later everyone was back in their base uniforms and SG-1 was sitting in the commissary together. Jack would eventually join them but he didn't want it to look like he was treating SG-1 with favoritism even though he had every reason to do so.
"The boys are going to be really excited to see your chickens Sam." Cam told her.
Sam laughed. "Please tell me you didn't teach them to call them chickens Cam." She asked him.
"Nah. I'm pretty sure Jack has that covered. By the way, I figured he'd join us by now. If nothing else to hassle Jackson."
"O'Neill does enjoy tormenting Daniel Jackson." Teal'c said in his version of amused "It is far more likely that he would like to congratulate Colonel Carter on her promotion."
"So are we going out to dinner tonight gang?" Cam asked.
"Oh, I don't know, it's probably not fair to General O'Neill not to invite him but then I wouldn't have a sitter." Sam said with a sigh. "It's all right, we can do something over the weekend."
"Well, I didn't even know I was invited." Jack said from behind her and Sam started a little.
"Well of course you're invited sir. You will always have a place with SG-1." She said with a smile she reserved only for him that wasn't lost on anyone at their table though Daniel and Vala had agreed to not discuss the incident with Pete on base.
"Handy that." He said absently and snagged a chair to sit behind Daniel so he could poke at the other man easier. The fact that it was strategically angled away from Sam giving every appearance of propriety and still have private conversations with their eyes was simply speculation on the part of her team.
"I know it's tradition your CO cover it but why don't we hit someplace the kids will be happy with too and I'll grab them on our way so we don't have to juggle cars?"
"What about that all you can eat Chinese place Jack? Daniel asked."
"The sushi there is only average but the kids will like the Mongolian barbeque." Cam agreed.
"All right, Golden Rooster it is." Jack agreed. "Speaking of, nice chickens Carter." He said gesturing at her shoulders.
"Ha! I told you he'd teach the kids to call them chickens." Cam said pointing a finger triumphantly.
"You leave my chickens alone both of you." She said petting one comfortingly. "There, there, the mean General didn't mean it, you're a perfectly nice chicken."
Vala was the first to laugh and after a moment everyone was too except for Jack who had a soft smile on his face that his Carter was back to being the woman he'd known and not the terrified woman desperately clawing at life trying not to drown in her problems. He hoped their boys never remembered the Carter they grew up with the first few years of their life. Their boys. Jack's face settled into a rather silly smile.
"Sir?" Cam asked him, wondering at the General's mood.
"Just remembering something Mitchell. I have some work to do before I get out of here so I'll meet you guys topside 1600?"
"Absolutely sir." Cam told him.
"All right then." Jack discreetly kicked Daniel's chair and cut his eyes to Teal'c as he got up and left.
"I uh, have some artifacts to catalog." Daniel said a few moments later and got up and left.
"I must attend to my duties." Teal'c told them and left too.
The remainder of the team looked at each other in confusion then looked at Sam. Sam shrugged. Just as confused as they were. "Well, don't look at me. I have no idea either." She told Cam and Vala.
"I bet I know what they are up to." Vala says cryptically and Sam gives her a hard look. "I very much doubt the base is the kind of place they would strategically plan that sort of thing Vala." Sam told her archly."
"Well, it is Jack. His ideas are usually at least as crazy as yours."
"She's got a point Sam."
Sam gave them both flat looks and Vala cracked up. "I told you she'd been around him too much. Now she's starting to mean mug like he does to Daniel all the time." Vala chortled.
Cam grinned. "Indeed." He said in a fake cheesy version of Teal'c's voice which made Sam laugh.
"Both of you knock it off. I should get back to my lab anyway." Sam told them.
"Congratulations Sam." Vala told her warmly.
"Thank you Vala." Sam said with a little grin and left the dining hall.
After Sam left, Cam turned to Vala. "All right, what was that all about?"
"Well, years ago before something they won't talk abut happened, When Sam wasn't in General O'Neill's chain of command, they were dating and I think he wants to date her again."
"Is that a good idea given their ranks?"
"He's adopting her kids Cam. I don't think the General gives a Tok'ra's touchy."
"Fair enough."
Later that evening everyone had changed into their civvies and met up at the overly cute all you can eat bonanza decorated with blissfully happy yellow chickens everywhere. Jack and Sam had met back at the house and opted to ride in his SUV together rather than take two cars as he could just drop them off at the house before heading back to base.
Currently they were trying to corral two visually overloaded little boys through the food line so they could tag team getting their own plates. Ultimately they got tired of the kids taking too much time and Sam went back and grabbed two more plates and picked things out for the adults, knowing without asking, what he'd eat. He could have done the same for her but the boys were starting to bicker and Jack was better at handling their squabbles than she was.
Sam took her and Jack's plates back to the table and waited for him to come back with the boys who they put between them. A tactical error in parenting thinking it was best they hemmed the boys in rather than separating them.
It started with Jake swiping a baby corn off Georgie's plate when he was talking to Jack. Georgie had looked suspiciously at his plate as though he knew something was missing but couldn't figure out what. Then Georgie decided he didn't like the pork balls and put his other one on his brother's plate knowing his brother didn't like pork balls at all or so Jake thought he ought to know even though they rarely went to dinner in the last two years while their mom tried unsuccessfully to save the house.
Jack had popped the contested pork ball in his mouth and arched a scarred eyebrow at them both, daring them to continue. This tactic worked for almost five minutes exactly.
"You ate one of my corn." Jake accused his brother, having forgotten his earlier theft.
"Did not."
"Did too. I saw you do it."
"No you didn't."
"Yes I did."
"Boys, enough." Sam admonished them both.
"Sorry mom." The chorused and glared at each other.
Jack and Sam went back to talking to the adults, each thinking the other had an eye on the boys.
Georgie stole another corn off Jake's plate.
"Stop it!"
"I didn't do anything." He said around his mouth full of purloined baby corn.
"Quit taking my corn."
"You took one of mine."
"You took one back."
"So?"
"So you just took another one."
"Did not."
"Did so."
"Not."
"Carter."
"Sir?" she said absently not even realize she'd done it because he'd used his 'get Sam's attention' voice to address her.
Daniel snorted at Jack's annoyed expression.
"For cripes sake, Sam could you manage to not 'sir' me to death in public?"
"What?"
"You just called me 'sir'."
"I did?"
"Carter." He said, his voice frustrated.
Suddenly it registered. She had. Sam gave him an abashed look. "Sorry. Did you want something?"
"Are you sure you didn't mix up the samples? That one's acting like Daniel." He said pointing at Jake.
Sam's eyes went wide for a second until she realized he was teasing her. "Well I asked for Harrison Ford but they said they were fresh out." She told him.
"Besides, I was around, she didn't need a fertility clinic for that from me."
Jack looked like he wanted to choke Daniel and Teal'c laughed.
"What's going on?" Cam asked, confused.
"We'll tell you when you're older Shaft." Jack told him which earned him a dour look.
"I think Sam and Daniel would have made lovely babies together." Vala told them, her eyes merry at the horrified looks on Daniel and Sam's faces.
"It would be like…"
"Sex with my sister." He finished.
Jack laughed. "T, remember when we had to switch up who had to marry Sam in whichever back-water village we ended up in to keep the peace and we had to take Daniel out of the kissing Sam at the end of the ceremony rotation?" He said chuckling.
"Indeed O'Neill. Daniel Jackson was most unconvincing in his regard for Samantha Carter." Teal'c clearly was remembering such incidents with humor.
"Eventually we gave up and just let Jack do it every time because he looked like he was going to punch someone otherwise." Daniel supplied.
"Aw, that's sweet."
Jack looked uncomfortable and Daniel nudged him in the side. "Relax Jack. No one here but us chickens."
The table erupted in laughter.
"I'll carry him up." Jack said of Jake who had passed out on the way home.
"All right. Georgie, come on buddy, time for bed."
"Don'wanna." He mumbled.
"I know kiddo but we're home now."
"Fine." He huffed sleepily and swatted Sam's hands away when she tried to unbuckle him. "Not a baby mom."
"I know." She agreed and gently led him into the house and to the stairs. She followed him up and nudged him to his bedroom.
Jack came out of Jake's bedroom. "I put him in bed clothes and all." He admitted.
Sam yawned. "S'all right. One night won't matter. Thank you for dinner." She said with a soft smile.
"My pleasure." He slid his fingers into her hair and tilted her head back so her luminous blue eyes met his. "Congratulations Carter. You earned it." He smiled a little. "I'm going to do what I wanted to do when I got to promote you last time."
"Last time you kept looking at me like you wanted to kiss me."
"The lady gets a prize." He said with a small chuckle and claimed her mouth gently. He wanted more and he knew she wouldn't turn him down but they needed to be careful. One thing tended to lead to another and people would start to notice that he wasn't signing back into base at night or worse, signing in very late which implied he was hiding something.
When she let out a soft needy sigh, he broke the kiss. "Me too but we can't do that too often or someone is going to notice."
"I know. I just wish…"
"Me too. Me too. I'll see you tomorrow morning bright and early."
"All right."
He gave her one final quick kiss. "Night Carter. I love you." He grinned and was down the stairs silently in seconds.
"Love you too Jack." She said to the empty stairwell. He heard her anyway.
