Ambassador O'Neill stepped through the Stargate. These days he tended to do most of his travelling by starship and he relished the feeling of his body being pulled this way and that, the icy cold of the infinite biting deeply into his old bones and coating his eyebrows in ice. The ride from the Asguard home wold was longer than most he had experienced when leading SG-1 and he was starting to feel a little nauseous when he was finally expelled, at some velocity, from the event horizon Earth-side.

He managed to land on his feet, taking the shock of landing by bending aching knees. He failed to suppress the smallest of moans as he hit the ground and he straightened up with a little difficulty, wiping the ice from his face.

"Ambassador," called the General from the control room.

He glanced upwards and smiled, his first real smile in weeks. General Carter beamed back at him, the beautiful blue-eyed smile that he remembered well from his days as her commanding officer. The smile he had fallen in love with.

He pushed that thought to the back of his mind as he saluted the General smartly. Carter had to be pushing sixty now he knew, but she had kept her figure and walked proud and erect; her military training was betrayed by her posture, despite the arthritis she was suffering in her knees and hands.

"General," he said, "It's been a while."

"Same to you Jack," she replied through the speaker system. A lot had changed at the SGC since his last a year ago. The General brushed a errant strand of steely grey hair from her face with almost girlish self-consciousness; sensing his eyes upon her as she nodded to the Sergeant and headed down the stairs as quickly as her arthritic knees would allow.

He was limping, she realised, as he walked towards her. He enveloped her in his long limbed embrace. "I've got some bad news."

"God Jack," she responded from somewhere in his chest, "I thought it might be a social call."

He released her. "No such luck. Is Daniel around?"

"He's not on base but I can call him in. Are things that bad?" she asked, biting her lip with worry.

"They might be,"he answered grimly, "I won't say anymore until Daniel's here.

It took half an hour for Daniel to get to the base, during which Carter attempted to fill in her ex-CO with everything he had missed in the last year he had been away from Earth.

"...And Cassie is trying for another baby with her husband.... And Daniel's middle daughter graduated last month... and- Oh, here he is."

Daniel smiled broadly at O'Neill. "Jack! Long time no see!"

O'Neill returned the grin, somewhat wanly. Daniel remained apparently unchanged from when he had last seen him; his greying hair now cropped close to his head and his glasses a slightly more streamlined design. "Daniel. How's Sarah? And the kids?"

"Oh we're all fine. Cara graduated last month and Jake's got engaged..." As perceptive as he had ever been in his youth Daniel faltered, sensing the question had been a mere platitude and knowing that there was an underlying issue here that was troubling Jack O'Neill.

It had been a year since they had last seen the Ambassador, but Daniel suspected the extra creases and general blanching of Jack's face had a cause other than twelve more months on the clock.

He coughed. "Anyway... what brings you back to Earth?"

O'Neill gestured to the briefing table. "Take a seat."

He placed an oval crystal in the centre of the briefing table. It glowed eerily for a moment and then the holographic images stored within it began to play.

Thor seemed to rise up from the crystal, in miniature. "Greetings General Carter, Doctor Jackson. I have sent this message with O'Neill in the hope I might persuade you to accompany him on a mission of some urgency."

The image changed, flickering, to show a planet, similar in appearance to Earth with swirling white clouds obscuring a surface of green and blue.

"This is Borash. Its inhabitants are an advanced race with technology comparable to our own. Extremely xenophobic in nature since the defeat of the Go'auld they have become increasingly concerned with the human expansion across the galaxy. Their empire borders our own territories and they have launched several attacks on our ships, possibly due to our alliance with many humans across the galaxy.

"We have managed to secure negotiations with the Borash commencing in one weeks time. The expertise of General Carter, Daniel Jackson and Teal'c we believe is essential if the negotiations are to reach as satisfactory conclusion. A ship is ready in orbit if you decide to accompany the Ambassador."

The image faded and for a moment there was silence around the table.

"So. Just like old times," Daniel said quietly, peering at the stone over steepled fingers, "The four of us off on a mission to save Earth."

"You don't have to give an answer now," O'Neill said, with a shrug, "You should talk it over with Sarah first. I mean, it could be dangerous."

Daniel looked as if he was about to argue but Carter cut across his response. "What does Thor mean, 'the expertise of General Carter.' What do you need us for Jack?"

O'Neill gave her a grey look. "Carter, there's likely to be a technological exchange. You'll have to analyse stuff. You know what I'm like with technical... stuff. And there'll be cultural exchanges too, and treaties to be written in different languages. Especially as the Asguard computers have a real problem translating Borashian language. And I thought we ought to have Teal'c along because he's the only one of us old timers who would be any use in close combat if things got hairy."

There was more silence, longer this time, more thoughtful.

"Count me in," said Carter after a moment.

"Me too," Daniel added a second later; his face set and both of the soldiers knowing better than to argue.

"Well. Looks like we have a go. Be ready to ship out by 0900 tomorrow morning," O'Neill said, almost wistfully.

"I have to go an argue with my wife now," Daniel said after a moment. "I'll see you all tomorrow morning."

"Bye Daniel."

"Bye."

The door clicked shut behind him. Carter met O'Neill's eyes, their penetrative aspect. Not dimmed by age and sharpened by the thinning of his face (not to mention hair).

"Uh. Are you... busy... tonight?" he asked after a moment.

"I have a few goodbyes to say," she returned.

"So dinner would be... out of the question...?"

"What time do you want me to pick you up?" she said, grinning devilishly.

"Excuse me? You pick up me..? I don't think so."

"You don't have a valid driving licence under the new legislation," she informed him archly, "So I think I might have to do the driving."

"I hate you," he said, mirroring her smile.

"I know."

*

The restaurant was expensive and she suspected that Jack had spoken to Daniel before booking a table here; she'd eaten here once before with Cassie and her husband and had remarked how much she liked the place. He pulled the chair back for her to sit down.

"You look great Sam," he said quietly as he sat down opposite and she felt her insides contract for a moment, and felt ridiculous.

"I'm getting old Jack," she responded, almost sadly, "Have you spoken to Cassie?" she added, desperate to change the subject.

He sighed. "Nothing changes, does it Sam?"

"What?" she asked, wrong-footed.

"It doesn't matter. And yes, I've spoken to her." He paused for a moment, fiddling with the menu. "Daniel said you liked it here."

"Yeah. I came here with Cassie and her husband a few weeks ago. It was nice food."

"Good."

There was an uncomfortable silence, filled with the chatter of other diners. A passing waiter, noticing their stillness paused at the table, notebook ready and pen poised.

"Would you like to order drinks, sir? Madam?" he asked, his tone light and friendly; his weariness betrayed by his eyes.

"Yeah. I'll have a beer," O'Neill said.

"And for you madam?"

"Just water please," Carter replied.

"Sparkling or still?"

"Still."

He hurried away, leaving Carter shifting uncomfortably under O'Neill's intense gaze. He appeared to reach a decision. He took her hand, resting lightly on the pristine white table cloth, in his own. She relished the warmth of his fingers as he stroked the protruding knuckles, slightly bunched with age and arthritis, of her hand.

"You thinking of retiring anytime soon?" he asked, talking to her hand and not her face.

"Why do you ask that?" she enquired, confused again.

He met her eyes and she wished he hadn't. Time was suppose to dull any pain, but not the one reflected in the brown pools boring into her. "Because I'm lonely," he replied frankly.

Words died in her throat and for a moment she felt like she might start crying. The waiter interrupted again, bearing their drinks on a tray, asking them if they were ready to order their food. She ordered unthinkingly, the same thing she had eaten before, her eyes never leaving Jack O'Neill's haggard face.

The waiter backed off and she spoke. "Lonely?"

"I miss you. All of you old timers. But you mostly. Thor keeps me busy, I gotta give the guy that. But still..."

"I have been thinking of retiring," she confessed. "Daniel keeps trying to talk me into it. I think he wants us all to retire off world somewhere, but Sarah will never let him do it. Their kids are here after all and you know... she wants to see her grandchildren, when they come. I don't blame her."

"After what she went through..? Me neither."

There was another pause. Their table's candle snuffed out suddenly as it reached the end of the wick, a plume of smoke stretching upwards; somewhat allegorically Carter thought for a moment.

"When did we get so old?" she whispered, more to herself and the candle than her companion.

"I don't know," he murmured, "I looked the other way and time caught up with me."

"With all of us."

Their food arrived, providing them with a distraction.

"My digestive system doesn't deal with dessert too well these days," Carter lied as she put down her cutlery.

"Mine neither," O'Neill gratefully agreed. He stood up, a little awkwardly. "I'll pay the bill."

They walked out together into the cool night air, arm in arm, for comfort or support neither of them could really say. Carter's car was parked on the far edge of the lot and O'Neill stopped in front of it, turning her around to face him. "What would you do, if you retired?" he asked softly.

She shrugged. "I have no idea."

His gnarled hand stroked her cheek, softened with age but still quite smooth. Gently, he leaned inwards and kissed her on the mouth. She pulled away after a second. "People can see us."

"I don't care."

"They'll be disgusted at old people kissing."

"That's their problem."

"You still love me, don't you?" It wasn't an accusation. More a statement of fact. Age, Carter had learnt, takes away many things. Beauty was one of them. Your illusions was another, for the most part.

"Yes." He looked away for a moment. "Is that so wrong?"

"No. I still love you," she replied, hugging him instinctively. "We messed up really, didn't we?"

"No," he replied, wrapping his long arms around her, "I don't think so. We saved the world. Repeatedly. We had some good times together, and we're both still doing jobs we love, despite being hideously elderly."

She chuckled at his joke, enjoying his embrace. "I meant us. We. We should have... we shouldn't have let it end like this."

"Like what?"

"Stop being deliberately dense. You know what I mean."

"You mean, end with us apart."

"Yeah."

"Yeah. It was a bad choice. But I thought you were going to marry Pete. I thought you were going to get the happy ending you deserved."

"Well, I didn't," she said, without a trace of bitterness.

"No. You didn't. I never knew why."

"Yes you did. You just never said," she replied, smiling despite herself.

"I thought.... I hoped... It was because you still loved me." His voice cracked slightly.

She made no reply to that. "...And I never found anyone else," she said distantly.

"Neither did I."

"And now we're both old and lonely."

He let go of her, facing her once more again in the darkness. "We don't have to be."

"What, old or lonely?" she asked.

"Well, I don't know about the first. But we don't have to be lonely. Retire. Come and be with me. And Thor."

"Do you come as a package now?"

"No," he answered, smiling stupidly.

"I'm too old Jack. *You're* too old."

"You're never too old."

"What would be the point, after all these years?"

"We wouldn't be lonely anymore."

There was more silence.

She sighed. "If I was twenty years younger..."

"You'd still be thinking about your career," he informed her and she chuckled.

"I suppose so." She unlocked the car. "Coming back to mine for a coffee?"