"Next thing you know I'm waking up with Colonel O'Neill looking down at me. I suppose it's possible I touched something inside the device." She told Janet, leaving out the part where Jack had his hand on her face when she woke or that he'd kissed her forehead lightly when she'd assured him she was all right.

Janet pointed out Sam was anemic and over tired before she left and Sam just rolled her eyes. She was anemic every month. It was why Jack made her go out for steak regularly. Or invited everyone over and grilled them himself if it was even remotely nice out. That had started when he'd caught her taking iron pills during a mission their first year working together and she'd admitted she went through this like clockwork. He was ridiculously thoughtful sometimes but she had been able to cut back on the iron pills with a steady diet of beef once a month.

Sam let the nagging wash over her. Janet did it because she loves her so Sam took it in the spirit intended. "Are we done?"

"Yes." Janet admitted. And Sam hops off the bed, an amused smile on her face.

"Make sure you come back if you start speaking in an alien language."

"I'm sure I'll have no choice." Sam called back to Janet as she leaves and resisted the urge to childishly flip her friend off like Jack would have to Daniel but her voice conveys it anyway.

After the briefing, Jack admonished her that she needed to relax a little but she admitted she really didn't have anything else to do. Aunt Marge took care of Grace a good portion of the time and her daughter clearly needed no help in school so she was a bit at her wits end. Jack left and she insisted to the now empty briefing room that she was fine. She'd wanted to go back to the planet because she really wouldn't have anything else to do for the next two weeks. Marge was taking Grace to see Mark and his wife Kim so she could get to know her cousins. Aunt Marge was better at fielding Mark's questions about Sam's love life so Sam was happy to stay home and not endure her brother trying to fix her up again.

But it did leave her nothing to do over the next couple weeks.

Sam went home early so she could see Grace off. Her daughter was picking which toy she wanted to play with in the car. "Mommy, who's that man behind you?" She asked innocently.

Sam turned around but no one was there. "What man?"

"There was a man behind you." Grace insisted.

Sam shrugged. There was no one there. She knew Jack hadn't snuck in. He couldn't with how loud his truck was. "Did Aunt Marge get everything packed for your trip?"

"I did." Marge told her from behind her, giving her a quick peck on the cheek before she passed her into Grace's room. "One toy, doll. Your uncle is going to spoil you rotten with gifts and I'm not hauling back more than I need to."

Sam smirked.

"But it's two days, Auntie Marge." Grace complained.

"So take some books." Sam suggested. Grace had jumped from knowing her alphabet and sight words at the start of kindergarten to blowing past her peers. She'd need chapter books by first grade. She was already reading third and fourth level books from the library[1]. Somehow Sam wasn't altogether shocked by this. Mark was already complaining his daughter Lisa was on her own in math and science already. He was great at accounting and was very smart himself but even Mark admitted Sam was a little smarter than him.

"I'd have to bring like... five books, mommy."

"We'll hit the bookstore on the way out." Marge said to Sam. "How about you take your sketch book and pencils?" She suggested to keep Grace occupied. "You could draw what you see on the way."

"Okay." Grace agreed and hopped onto her bed which was now blue and teal with dolphins on it.

"I've got that covered." A familiar male voice said from behind Sam.

"Uncle Jack!"

"Hey kiddo! This is from your gramps and me. He thought you might like some drawing supplies for the trip." Jack told Grace.

"You talked to Grandpa?"

"Of course I did! He's still on a mission but he said to give you a big hug… and a sketch pad." Jack winked at Sam.

"All right, let's pack these in your duffle bag and then I'll start loading the car up." Marge said.

"It's a bug out bag, Auntie Marge!" Grace insisted.

"Military kids…" Marge muttered in amusement.

"I'll help you pack the car Marge." Jack offered.

"I'll start loading the cooler." Sam offered.

Everyone forgot about Grace's visitor in the bustle to get Marge and Grace out the door. Jack hugged and kissed Grace and told her to be good for her aunt and uncle and not to blow anything up.

"Uncle Jack!" She'd giggled but kissed him and hugged her mom goodbye then climbed into her car seat on the passenger side in the back seat.

Sam and Jack waved until they couldn't see Marge's brown sedan anymore.

"Steak, Miss Anemia." Jack told Sam.

"You know she can get in a lot of trouble tattling like that."

"I was eavesdropping." Jack admitted. "Go get your coat."

Sam shook her head laughing but did as she was told. He bought her home early as she really was tired. He was glad Hammond had made her take a couple days off. He'd drop by with one of the guys to keep her company in a day or two.

The next morning Sam has a weird encounter with what she assumes is a nosey neighbor but when she gets off the phone with Daniel he's standing behind her. In her house.

Her conversation ended with Orlin telling her he loves her as she slams the door on him. Her first call is to the base. The second to Jack.

She comes back later with a Code 3 team of engineers to find out why another alien has latched on to her. She and Jack stand in her house discussing her visitor. He's fairly concerned at Sam's revelation that this alien had been in her house since she came home for the day meaning not only had the alien been alone with her, he'd possibly been in contact with Grace. He did his best to reassure Sam but left with the team when Sam seems all right with being by herself with the joke that possibly the alien is shy since he's only shown himself to Sam.

Sam entirely forgot about Grace's comment and called Marge to see how their drive went. They talked for a while and she said goodnight to her daughter and wishes them a safe trip before going to bed.

The next day, Daniel asked Jack how Sam was and Jack avoided the question. He believed her but so far no sign of her little friend. He's not sure how to answer Daniel's questions without getting personal about things so he gave him stupid answers until Daniel gives up.

When nothing happens for the next three days, the Code 3 team came back and took all the surveillance equipment. And Sam, with a sigh, went into her living room. She turned on a light and Orlin is sitting behind her.

"I understand why you did it." Orlin told her.

"Of course you wait until they took the cameras away." She said with resignation.

She told him in frustration that she's had a psych evaluation because of his antics. He talked her into trying to open her mind to the situation and she warned him not to say take it easy… mostly because if it sounds anything like Jack, she's going to punch this guy even if her hand passes through his face.

She faced him as he blurs into a bloom of light in front of her and touches her mind.

"You have a daughter."

"Yes."

"She is special."

"Yes she is." Sam thinks at the entity, thinking of her daughter's intelligence.

"No… she belongs with her own kind."

"What?"

Sam opened her eyes and stared at Orlin in shock. "Oh my god…" But Orlin has disappeared.

The next morning before she even changed for the day she tracked Jack down and asked him what he thinks of the situation and her idea after forcing him to admit the Code 3 team probably left a camera intentionally. Jack seemed kind of annoyed with her but he also needed to use the bathroom so he could have also just drank too much coffee. It didn't look like he'd left base last night.

When she got home that night, Orlin pestered her about being late from work as though it was any of his business.

"Hey, this is not a relationship we have going here. I don't even know what it is." She huffed. More importantly she needed to get him the hell out of her house. She knew she was probably being watched which meant Jack wouldn't be dropping by just to hang out. She was stuck with this fruitcake who set a romantic dinner for the two of them until she figured out how to get rid of him.

Orlin decided to reveal that he was solid now and tried to talk her into starting a relationship which is about the last thing she needed right now.

And then the doorbell rings and she just knows who it is. "Oh boy." She huffed.

Jack yelled her name through the door and started banging on it when she doesn't answer.

Sam shoved a now permanently solid Orlin into a closet and goes to the door. Of all the rotten stinking timing Jack she thinks as she pulls the door he's been pounding on open. "Hey guys, what are you doing here?" She asked Jack and Teal'c who is amusingly sporting a cowboy hat and holding a pizza box with a rental on top of it.

"We brought pizzas and a movie." Jack said cheerfully, having solved the how to come over without it looking like a date problem by bringing a large Jaffa chaperone with him.

"Star Wars." Teal'c tells her rather enthusiastically for him.

She called Jack out on lying about never seeing Star Wars.

"Well, you know me and sci-fi. Come on, we never just get to hang out, so I thought we'd…" he's telling her until he sees the table behind her.

"Uh, Sir, as much as I, ah…" She tried to figure out how to tell him in code with Teal'c standing there watching them because this isn't about she and Jack being emotionally involved with each other this time.

"Carter. Do you…already have company?" He asked.

"Kind of." She hedged.

"A date?" He seemed a little amused. He's got a pretty good idea what might be going on but he's keeping that to himself.

"I can understand why you might assume that I didn't have plans." She gave him a 'please go away' look.

"Don't worry about it. We'll find something else to do." He looks to Teal'c for confirmation who nods.

"I'm really sorry, I mean this is a surprise, very unexpected." She said nervously, hoping like hell he figures it out.

He gave her the pizza and told her to have fun and that he and Teal'c would make other plans.

After they leave, Orlin and Sam discussed his past and Oma. Eventually Orlin admitted to her that he descended as much for himself as for her and he'll accept if they don't become anything more.

"Orlin, it's not that… it's… complicated."

"Because of your feelings for Grace's father." He told her.

Sam nodded slowly. If there were any more devices the less that she said the better.

"You love him very much."

"More importantly his daughter loves him and I won't do anything that would jeopardize their relationship."

"I understand." He said sadly. "She's like me though."

"What do you mean like you?"

"She's like my people."

Sam shook her head. That was impossible. His people died out centuries ago.

After he dropped Teal'c off at the base for the night Jack called Marge. "Hey hot stuff. How's my monkey enjoying her vacation?"

"Oh hey Jack." Marge chirps at him. "She's playing with her cousins. Want me to get her?"

Jack grins. "Well yah." He says as though it's a dumb question.

Marge laughs at his tone and calls Grace to the phone.

"Who is it? Is it mommy?"

"Nope, it's Uncle Jack."

Grace squeals excitedly and snatches the phone.

"Uncle Jack?" Mark asks her, his eyebrows up.

"One of the guys on Sam's team. He gets attached to everyone's kids." Marge said with a chuckle.

"Is that…" Mark was concerned. Normal guys didn't take an interest in other people's kids.

Marge moved away from where Grace might hear her. "Mark, he lost his little boy a few years ago. Being around his friends' kids helps him deal with it emotionally." She was not about to explain Jack was Grace's father until Sam gave her a go-ahead.

"Oh." Mark said, suddenly feeling bad about his previous suspicions.

On the other side of the room Grace was talking a mile a minute. "Lisa has an American Girl doll, Uncle Jack. Can I have one? She's really pretty and you don't have to get just girl clothes for her. Auntie Kim made her a baseball outfit and a space suit and a uniform like you and mommy wear."

"Is that so? Well, I'll have to see what I can do about that." Jack says, smiling.

"They don't make a boy doll but I bet if you got one with its hair short I could cut it to look like a boy." She suggested. "Uncle Jack, who was that man at my house the day I left?"

"What man?"

"The one that was behind mommy before you got there but he left when he heard you." Grace proceeded to describe the man Sam had called Orlin.

Jack paused. He'd been a little concerned about Sam's visitor but now huge claxons were going off. She'd been telling him the truth the whole time. "I'll ask your mom when I talk to her later, kiddo. Hey, can I talk to your auntie for a minute? It's getting pretty late here and I need to get to bed."

"Okay, Uncle Jack. I miss you."

"I miss you too Grace." And he did.

"Auntie Maaarrgeee… Uncle Jack wants to talk to yoouuu…." She said, waving the phone above her head.

Marge snatched it. "Thank you." She told the five year old. "What's up?" She asked Jack.

Jack sighed. "I'm a little worried about some stuff around here. If Sam calls you and asks you to extend your vacation just go along with it, okay?"

"Jack, is everything all right?"

"I'm not sure but I'll keep her safe. I promise."

"All right. You keep you safe too Jack. I'll never hear the end of it if you don't."

Jack chuckled. "I bet she'd brain you for telling me that."

Marge made a rude noise. "Only if it's a fair fight." She said laughing.

Shortly after Jack called Sam. "Carter. Are you alone?" He asked her softly.

"Hang on a second." He heard Sam say something about going for a walk and then scuffling as she put on her shoes and jacket. "Sorry sir, he's figured out how to be solid, that's why I shooed you out of the house the other day."

"Why did you not tell me about this?"

"I just did sir."

"Gah, Carter quit calling me sir. It's weird. All right. Try to keep me in the loop if he does anything weirder than he's done already. Thank god Grace is at Mark's with Marge."

Sam sighted. "Yah."

"Sam, Grace described a guy that sounds like your visitor. I think she could see him before we could."

"Probably." She said, sitting down on a swing at the grade school at the end of her street. "Children's minds are more open to unusual experiences."

"Has he said anything about her?" Jack asked concerned.

"He's told me a couple times that Grace is like him. I don't really understand what he means by that but the first time he said she belonged with her own kind."

"She belongs where she is. With her parents who love her." Jack growled. "Try not to let him go anywhere without you, would yah? I don't know what his game is but…"

"I don't either, Jack. He seems innocent enough other than the deal with his comments about Grace and hitting on me."

"Hitting on you?" There was a chuckle in Jack's voice.

"You don't think anyone else would find me attractive?" She huffed at him.

"On the contrary, Sam, most of the guys I know find you attractive. I just don't know many of them brave enough to approach you."

"I'm not sure if I should be flattered or insulted by that." She told him chuckling.

"Sam, you're stunningly beautiful and brilliantly intelligent. Trust me, you intimidate the hell out of nearly every guy on base." There was warmth in his voice. "Besides, they all have access to your range scores."

Sam laughed. He was teasing her. "If you'd smile once in a while, the ladies on base might like you too, Jack."

"I like the ladies I already have." He told her. "I told Marge there's something going on and to expect a call from you to extend her vacation. I know the school will complain probably but I'll try to smooth that over for you."

"All right, I'll tell her there was a gas leak or something."

"You should get back before your 'guest' goes looking for you."

"I did not invite him over." Sam huffed. "I'm not a fan of his interest in our daughter either." She growled.

Jack laughed. "Hang in there, Carter." He hung up wishing he could say what he wanted to at the end of that exchange but knowing how problematic this was already…

Sam bickered with Simmons about the wisdom of firing up the weapon Orlin told her was extremely dangerous. When she finally got home, Orlin had trashed her microwave to make her an emerald. It was a sweet gesture but it wasn't her birthstone. She sighed inwardly.

She took him for a walk and told him what Simmons wanted to do.

He let her know that the Others would stop them and the results would be tragic.

Nine days later Simmons confronts her with Orlin's purchases

Sam acts shocked that Simmons has been spying on her even though she'd assumed all along which was as much the reason she'd taken a walk to talk to Jack as taking Orlin for a walk to discuss the weapon.

Later that night Simmons is determined to storm Carter's castle and Jack does everything he can to deescalate the situation before Sam gets hurt or worse. He suggested Sam go in and talk to the guy. She had told Jack he was nice, just a little troubled, and Jack trusted her judgment.

She went into the house and told Orlin she didn't turn him in. Jack hadn't either she implied.

"I didn't think you did." He said, meaning them both.

Jack warned her that the breach team was coming in and she gave Orlin a helpless look.

Orlin activated his homemade Stargate. "You know how I feel about you. I hope this isn't goodbye." He said.

Sam looked up at the stairs and follows him through. She was going to be arrested either way and hopefully she can help him first. Thank you for the warning Jack, she thinks as she steps through to Velona.

Reynolds, Sam and Orlin argue about the weapon. Sam tries to reason with Al but he's determined to follow his orders. Orlin tried to stop Al but ends up shot instead. "I can't believe how much this hurts." He said surprised.

"Major, we got to get out of here." Al tells her as the generator starts to overload but they can't. If they do, the blast might telegraph through the gate and take out half the SGC with it.

"I have to go, Sam." Orlin tells her, touching her face gently. "They've given me another chance. It's the only way I can save you." And he returned to his ascended form, taking the overloaded naquadah straight up where it can explode harmlessly in the sky. A bolt of lightning nails the weapon and completely destroys it for good.

It was a grueling debriefing but it was finally over and Sam has a black mark on her record but so does Jack for telling George it was his idea to try to draw Orlin out to find out what he wanted. As their collective actions saved the mountain and possibly the Earth, everything is brushed under the rug.

They are standing together in the base parking lot, Sam leaning against her car door.

"You okay, Carter?"

"I am. It was… weird. But I'm okay."

"Tell yah what. Come back to my place for the night. Tomorrow morning we'll come with you and clean up your house."

"You don't have to. The basement is trashed but…"

"Sam, they tossed your house. I already have an SF sitting outside because they breached your door. You'll need a new door frame. I'll hit the hardware store on my way over in the morning."

She looked up at him, gauging his feelings about the last few weeks.

The lot was video monitored so Jack didn't do what he wanted to do which was hold her and assure her everything was all right between them.

"Jack… I… nothing happened."

"I know."

She looked up at him.

"Look, he seemed like a nice enough guy and all… but I know you. You like a little more edge."

Sam grinned foolishly. "Sir, you have no idea what I like." She said chuckling. "But you're right. He wasn't my type. I'll meet you back at your house?"

"Yah, sure."

She nodded and gets into her car and drives off. She'll need to get some clothes as she doesn't keep things at his house at all. If she stays overnight she usually just sleeps in her t-shirt and panties. If only Jack knew her type had nothing to do with edge and everything to do with being honest and kind and funny. Most of all funny.

She called Marge. "How's the vacation going?"

"Mark bought her an American Girl doll and a horse. Oh and about twenty pounds of clothing and an erector set. I won't be able to see out the back of my window. She read every book she came with, half her cousin's, and I have to take her to the bookstore again, I assume?"

Sam chuckled. "Gas leak handled. The guys are going to help me clean up the house tomorrow. If you need me, call my cell or Jack's house."

"Oh… something you need to discuss?"

Sam laughed. "It's not that. There was some stuff and the house is really trashed. The guys are going to help me clean it up."

"Well have a good time tonight and don't do anything I wouldn't do."

"Aunt Marge!" she said, scandalized by her suggestion.

Marge laughed though and hung up.

[1] By the middle of first grade I was reading at a 6th grade level. By that summer, my mom gave up and let me read whatever I wanted. I blew through her Agatha Christie novels that summer. I'm betting Grace is at least as smart as me ;)