They walked to the dining room, and Jack saw that the huge table had been set and was looking fabulous. The family didn't differentiate between the boys and the adults, and there were china plates and crystal wineglasses at every place, although there were a few more napkins at the table than there might have been if it had been an adult only affair. He paused at the doorway, watching as everyone took their seats.

"Jack!" Shawn was waving wildly at him to take the spot beside him. Jack nodded, and then groaned inwardly as he sat down and had the spot next to him taken by Brittany. Or was it Carol? Jack was pretty certain it was Brittany. The two looked identical, but they were wearing different clothing.

He smiled at Shawn, and then gave a polite nod to the woman seated beside him. She smiled, and laid her napkin in her lap.

"We're having ribs, Jack," she told him. "You'll love them. Grandma makes her own barbeque sauce."

"Sounds great."

It did sound great. Jack loved ribs. He watched as the rest of the table filled up. Andrew sat next to Teal'c, and Simon took the chair on the other side of the Jaffa. Daniel had Devon on one side of him, but Darrin had managed to get the seat on the other, which was across from Jack, so he could clearly hear the younger man already trying to engage Daniel in a conversation about his theories of ancient Egypt. Of course, at the same time, Devon was telling him all about what he'd been doing that week at school, and Anna, who was seated next to Devon was practically leaning over the boy in her own attempts to talk to Daniel. All in all, if he could figure out how to ward off Brittany, Jack figured he'd thoroughly enjoy the dinner entertainment.

"Are you a drinker, Jack?" Scott asked. Andrew's uncle had walked into the dining room with a bottle of wine, and was filling his mother's glass.

"At times," Jack said, smiling as he edged his chair a little closer to Shawn's. Brittany seemed to be seated on the edge of her own. Unfortunately, it was the edge closest to Jack.

"Want wine? Or a beer?"

"I'll have a beer. In the bottle, is fine."

"Shawn?"

The boy looked over when Scott called his name.

"Do you want sparkling grape juice that looks like wine? Or would you like milk?"

Grinning at being involved in choosing his own drink, Shawn opted for milk. Straight up.

Jack smiled, and Scott laughed as he filled the boy's glass and moved on down the table, giving each diner whatever they asked for. Jack watched as he stopped at Jenny, who had Micah in the high chair next to her, and filled her glass with a white wine. She smiled up at him, and O'Neill felt a pang and wished that Sam was there with him.

"I was sorry that Sam couldn't make it, Jack," Miyra said as she sat down on the other side of Brittany. Jack turned, wondering if he'd looked so obvious, and flushing slightly.

"Yes, I was, too." He said. "She would have loved this place. It's very nice."

"Wait until tomorrow, and we'll show you the outside. It looks wonderful after a snowfall."

"Who's Sam, Jack?" Brittany asked, looking down at his hand, obviously searching for a wedding ring.

"Jack's girl friend!" Andrew said from his spot next to Teal'c.

"Oh?"

Jack opened his mouth to say something, but Simon beat him to it.

"Yeah, she's a Major in the Air Force."

"How nice." Brittany seemed to find the rest of her chair, suddenly, and Jack didn't feel quite as pressed in on. "What's she like?"

Again Jack opened his mouth, but again, he didn't get a chance to say anything. The boys were eager to share their knowledge.

"She's tall!"

"And pretty!"

"She has blonde hair!"

"Short, like grandma's."

"She's smart, too!"

"And a doctor, like Daniel."

"Yeah, but she's not an archonolomist like him."

"She's a physicist." Shawn said. The adults looked at him, but he gave them an innocent look back. "She is. A theoretical physicist."

He was assuming they didn't believe him, but really they were just impressed that he'd managed to pronounce the words so clearly, when it was obvious his peers were having trouble with Daniel's job title.

"He's right," Jack said, grinning at the boy. Shawn smiled back.

"She's a genius." Tyler said, stoutly.

"I'm sorry to have missed meeting her," Brittany said, smiling at the boys. "Why couldn't she make it?"

"Her dad and her went on a trip to New York. He had to go, and she decided to go with him to spend a little time with him."

"Sounds like fun."

"Oh yeah."

Brittany was going to say something else, but the arrival of a small rolling table filled with steaming food cut her off, and the topic turned to dinner as bowls of vegetables, and potatoes, rolls, biscuits, and salad were passed around, followed almost immediately by a huge platter of ribs smothered in barbeque sauce. As he loaded his plate, and watched the boys around him do the same, Jack couldn't understand why Andrew was so scrawny.