AN: So... any of you belong to a neighborhood association? If you do I'm sure some of you have met up with the kind of person who is our former president current vice president. Very convinced that she is 'helping' by just taking over. She's not of course. Mostly she's just aggravating the person who's job she's doing for them without their request or consent. She shows up for the meetings always dressed up, makeup on. Who are you trying to impress? Not me. All the guys are married and she is too. Some people just don't have a lot in their life and can't turn it off and in her case I noticed she struggles to not try to annoy anyone prettier, smarter or more talented then her. I write our newsletter. For the 2nd time she basically chose to take over without asking. Fun fact... I'm not a fan of that sort of thing. I'm also not a fan of high school politics or people who lie to save face but instead are just insulting. I lit into the current president for just assuming what was going on without asking any questions. He's new. He'll learn I'm super easy to deal with unless you jerk me around. Then I have teeth.

Chapter 4

Sam walked out of the meeting with the Joint Chiefs and Congressional Committee, her facial expression… mutinous.

She was so furious with their post-mission evaluation of her that she stalked right past the tall graying General leaning casually against a nearby wall. She didn't even notice him which was unusual for her regarding this specific General as he'd been her commanding officer for the better part of a decade and her husband of three years.

"Bad?" He said simply as he easily fell in line with her long stride.

Her sensible low heeled dress shoes clicked on the tile of the hallway. "What happened to your meeting?" she asked in a clipped tone. "Sir." She added almost as an afterthought. He'd begged off joining her for work-related nonsense he hated anyway.

"Canceled. Last-minute, of course. Almost like the entire plan was to keep me spinning my wheels in my office instead of making those shol'va idiots shiver in their shiny little dress shoes while they grilled you." He shrugged philosophically. "Sorry, Carter. I should have been there."

"Not your fault, sir." She said, with a tired sigh. Sometimes she wondered how Jack was so successful in DC knowing how he felt about the bureaucrats who he now worked with on a daily basis. She knew he was good at his job – not always a skillful diplomat but he was a starch defender of the program and has learned in his three years in DC to keep himself above the fray.

"Want some ice cream?" He asked her with a hopeful quirk of his mouth.

She stopped and looked at him as though he'd lost his mind.

"So that's a yes, Colonel?" His smile reached his eyes.

"I could use a stiff drink more." She admitted.

"We both know what happens when I let you day drink, Carter." He admonished her.

"It was tea." She reminded him with a quirk to her lips.

He nodded. That was better, he thought, as they left the building and headed to a familiar shop around the corner they were both fond of.

Sam hunched her shoulders in irritation "They don't care about those people or the program or the potential dangers." She rounded on him as they reached the door of the ice cream shop. "Why do I even bother?" She demanded.

Jack opened the door for her. A three-year-old with burnished curls bounced her hair and waved at them, her companion a large black man who had kept them all alive more times than not. "That's why." He said, with a grin for the little girl who launched herself into his arms, sticky fingers, and all.

Sam smiled softly. "Yah." She said leaning against the door frame for a moment. Good reason, she decided.

"Mommy, Uncle T says we can go to a fancy dinner tonight." Gracie told Sam as she leaned down from her father's arms to reach for her.

"He does?" Sam asked in false shock as she took her into her arms and savored the hug her daughter gave her.

"Uh huh."

"Well I guess we better go along with it because Uncle T is bigger than me." Sam said and poked her three year old daughter affectionately in the belly.

Gracie giggled as they sat down at the table. Sam took a deep breath, happy to be with her family once again, after that fiasco of a meeting.

"I bet your cousin Sammy was glad to see you." Sam told her daughter.

"Yes! Jon came over too. We played video games and Grandma Mary taught me how to make a flan." Gracie said enthusiastically.

"Mary Amos is an accomplished cook." Teal'c intoned seriously.

"Mommy, how come Sammy and Jon still live in Colorado and not in DC with daddy?"

Sam's mouth slid open but she was stymied for an answer.

"Because pumpkin, Sammy and Jon are in high school and it's very hard to switch schools so close to graduation. Plus Grandma Mary and Uncle Wil adopted Sammy remember?" Jack told his daughter.

Gracie thought about this for a while. "So they're her mommy and daddy now?"

Sam wobbled her head. "Yah kind of." She agreed.

"Okay." Gracie said and ran to the glass counter displaying the assortment of cold treats. "I want a turtle sundae, daddy!"

Jack chuckled and followed his daughter. He and Sam were both in the class As. In any other town, a highly decorated Air Force General and an equally highly decorated Air Force Colonel in full dress would have drawn looks. In DC, it didn't even merit casual observation. Not even accompanied by a hulking man in a ball cap and a chatty three year old. Teal'c did give off bodyguard vibes the way he scanned the room yet never took one eye off Gracie.

"Gracie tells me Major Schultz has been sent home." Teal'c rumbled.

Sam nodded and sighed. "The facility isn't equipped to deal with childcare needs. It's not that I object to their situation, it's that it's still technically in danger where it's at and it's not safe for a pregnant woman to be stationed there."

"That is unfortunate. Major Schultz valued her position."

"Yah. I valued having her, Teal'c." Sam agreed.

"Well I'm happy two of my favorite geeks are home. Let Woolsey figure out how to deal with Rodney." Jack said smugly as he returned to the table, one eye on his daughter's tottering sundae.

"Threatening him with lemons works." Sam said in amusement.

Jack however didn't laugh. "Bill." He said by way of greeting the man who had walked up behind Sam.

"You're a hard man to track down today, Jack. How's the knee?" The Admiral said to him in his distinctive blended drawl.

Jack huffed. "Our little buddies in Congress gave me the run around this morning." Jack told the tall sparse man behind his wife who had been motioned to stay seated when she realized who it was. "I'll live. I just feel stupid it even happened." He admitted.

"They know you, Jack." McRaven said, regarding Jack's adversaries in general with an amused smile. "I'm not sure they could handle both of you at the same time."

"Damn right." Jack agreed smugly.

Sam's shoulders shook with mirth.

William McRaven chuckled. "I'm actually here to speak to your wife, Jack… informally, of course."

"Oh, yes sir." Sam said and turned and looked up at McRaven.

"It has come to my attention that my boys could use a bit of cross training." He said affably to her.

"Sir?"

"As you'll be in command of orbital security, I'd like your permission to use the facilities for extra-terrestrial training."

Sam looked at Jack sharply. He'd told her they were giving her command of a ship, not command of the entire orbital security force.

Jack shrugged and gave her an 'oh, it must have slipped my mind' look.

Sam discreetly rolled her eyes at Jack. "Sir, I'd enjoy discussing this with you at your convenience."

McRaven nodded. "Great. Once Hopkins hits dirtside, have him come to DC and we'll get it set up." He said with a grin. "That is, after he sees his fiancé. I'm fairly certain I get more information about her than I do status reports on the condition of his men." Bill mused but he clearly was entertained by the man's preoccupation with the woman he was in love with.

"Yes sir." Sam agreed.

"I'll see you Thursday." McRaven said to Jack.

"Yah… wouldn't miss an enthralling meeting with the guys." Jack said dryly.

Bill laughed. "That's why I like you, Jack. You don't ask me how high."

Jack flashed him a grin. He hadn't been intimidated by the other man when he'd been a colonel. He wasn't about to start when they were of equal rank. "Tell Georgeann hello for me."

"I will. Sam, my wife thinks your husband is a riot." He said, turning once again to Sam.

Sam shook her head and grinned. "That's the general consensus, sir." She agreed.

"Mr. Teal'c." Bill said to Teal'c with a nod to the taciturn Jaffa.

"Admiral McRaven." Teal'c replied with a nod of his head.

"Lynn and Frank are going to have a baby, Admal MacRaven." Gracie informed Bill around her ice cream.

"I heard." Bill said to the little girl, a twinkle in his eyes. "Now that your mom is home, you might get a little brother or sister too."

Sam and Jack assumed carefully blank expressions that made Bill laugh. "Serves you right for telling my wife terrible jokes she repeats to me later, Jack." Bill said with a laugh and went to the counter to buy an ice cream cone.

Sam bit her lip trying not to crack up at Jack's panicked look. They hadn't talked about it yet but she was open to the idea once she was settled in her new position. Jack, by his expression, had put a lot of thought into it but was afraid to broach the subject which was fairly adorable really.