Sam caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror as she ran a comb through her hair and shook her head in amusement. She really needed to wipe that happy grin off her face. It had taken up permanent residence in the days since Teal'c and Ishta's wedding. That wouldn't be such a bad thing except she had noticed that Jack was sporting a matching one the other day and people would start to talk. She just needed to keep it together for a bit longer. And she especially needed to be on her best behavior today.

The newlyweds had returned two days ago, and today they were all getting together at the General's for dinner. Jack had decided to tell Daniel and Teal'c he was retiring, even though it wouldn't be announced to the SGC until a replacement had been named. If they were both grinning like fools today their friends would know something was up. Sam sighed. Knowing her teammates as she did they would speculate anyway and be pretty close to the truth. Although she doubted they would guess that their two friends were secretly engaged.

Engaged.

Damn, there went the smile again. Oh, well, she'd be darned if she was going to try to hide her happiness from her best friends, she thought as she grabbed her hat and gloves and headed out the door. An hour later they were all sitting in front of a roaring fire in Jack's living room, toasting the newlyweds and laughing. Three couples, all with unique relationships, Sam thought. Daniel and Sarah were still working their way through her time as Osiris, but were well on their way to recapturing the love they had shared so many years ago. Teal'c and Ishta, had both seen their share of heartache in other relationships, and had now found in each other a kindred soul.

Then there was the General and the Lt. Colonel. She looked over at him now, relaxed and happy amongst his friends. She loved seeing him like this, and it seemed that as the time for his retirement drew nearer he was letting her see more and more of the real Jack O'Neill. Or maybe like her it was just that for the first time in a long time he was happy, and that was the difference. Either way it was nice, and she could definitely get used to it.

Almost as if he could read her mind he stood up and signaled his friends for silence. "I have an announcement to make," he told them. "When I first agreed to head up the SGC I told the President I would give him a year. He agreed. Probably thought once I had settled into the role I would change my mind. I didn't. The year is up on May 7th and I have already informed President Hayes that I intend to retire," he informed them.

There was a moment of stunned silence that Jack used to look over to see Carter beaming back at him. Then the voices around him broke into the silent connection.

"Jack, are you sure? What are you going to do? Who's going to take your place?" Daniel demanded.

Sarah and Ishta had both simply expressed their congratulations, while Teal'c stated "You will be missed, O'Neill."

Jack forestalled any other comments by continuing. "The president has offered me a consultant position, which I've accepted, so you won't be completely getting rid of me," he explained. "As for my replacement, it hasn't been decided, but I'm sure that the Joint Chiefs will be very careful in their selection. And until they have decided and we can announce the new base commander this is not to be spread around at the SGC," he warned. "I just wanted to tell you guys ahead of time so you weren't surprised by it."

After Daniel and Teal'c had both congratulated Jack they all suddenly turned to Sam to see her reaction. She couldn't help but laugh at the speculative look that the four had.

"What?" she asked.

"Aren't you going to congratulate Jack?" Daniel asked curiously.

"I've know for a long time, Daniel. But congratulations, Sir. I'm sure you will enjoy all of the extra time you will have to go fishing," she said with a gleam in her eyes just for Jack.

"Oh, I'm sure I will, Carter," he assured her.

"So is that what you plan to do with your retirement? Fish?" Daniel asked looking at Sam who had gone over to add wood to the fire.

"Oh, I have plans. Big plans, Daniel," Jack told his friend, and Sam was very grateful that she had her back to all of them as her smile grew so large her cheeks hurt.

Although Daniel was obviously curious, Jack refused to elaborate, except to explain that he would be taking on special projects for the SGC as needed. They spent the rest of the evening teaching Ishta to play poker and laughing as they compared games of chance in the various parts of the universe. As Sam headed off home for the evening she couldn't help but look forward to a lot more evenings like that in her future. While she and Jack hadn't done anything to overtly declare themselves as a couple, they had still felt like one, and been quietly accepted as one by their friends.

Another month passed before the Joint Chiefs decided on a replacement for O'Neill. Finally it was decided that General Joseph Walters, currently commander of Norad would be transferred downstairs, and his current 2IC would be promoted to run Norad. It was a decision everyone was happy with. Over the years with the number of times the SGC had caused the entire mountain to go into lockdown, General Walters had eventually gained security clearance to learn what was going on in the bowels of the mountain below him. He had even on one occasion when Jack was off world with SG1 stepped in and taken charge of the SGC when Hammond was required in Washington. Hammond and O'Neill had both had dealings with him and got along well with the man. Having been at the helm of Norad for several years he had enough of a science background to understand the basics of what was going on as far as wormholes were concerned.

When the announcement was made to the SGC staff the reaction was mixed. While many people were sorry to see Jack O'Neill leave, those that knew him best were happy that he was finally getting to take his well-earned retirement. And the entire base threw themselves enthusiastically into two tasks, planning the General's retirement party, and betting on how long it would be before he and Lt. Colonel Carter got together. The smart money was on the night of the retirement party itself.

Sam pretended to be oblivious to the betting pools and neither Daniel or Teal'c wanted to bring them to her attention, so she was able to largely ignore the gossip. Jack did too, just keeping an ear to the ground to make sure things didn't get out of control. Besides both he and Carter were very busy that last month bringing General Walters up to speed. He was included in a lot of the meetings and received copies of all of the mission reports as well as the reports out of the research labs. As a result he often met with the two to go over any questions he had. On one such occasion as he gathered his notes together he noticed O'Neill staring after the Lt. Colonel as she left the room. He'd heard the rumors but had just put it down to gossip. Now he couldn't help but wonder.

"Lt. Colonel Carter is an amazing woman," he commented, and saw a small smile flit across O'Neill's face before he faced him.

"Yes, she certainly is. I'm leaving you in excellent hands. Make sure you listen to her even when you don't understand half of what she's saying. She'll save your butt every time," Jack recommended.

"And Dr. Jackson?" General Walters asked.

"Oh, you only need to listen to Daniel when he gets real intense. The rest of the time he's mostly just talking out loud," Jack told him with a grin. "As for Teal'c, he hardly ever says a word. When he does you'll listen, if only out of surprise. And I'll be around, so when in doubt you can ask me to interpret."

"I thought you were going fishing?" Joe Walters quipped.

"Not full time. There are things around here that I need to take care of," Jack said and his gaze involuntarily slid to the doorway that Carter had recently exited.

As General Walters headed back to his office at Norad he couldn't help but think that at least one of those things was a blond Lt. Colonel, and that she was a pretty good incentive for retirement.



Despite being busy the days leading up to Jack's last crawled by so slowly Sam would have sworn they were in the grips of a time dilation device. By the time Friday rolled around she was ready to storm his office and take him right there on top of his desk. Besides ending the incredible sexual frustration that was building out of control she would have the satisfaction of making the betting pool scramble to figure out who had won. She was guessing no one had money on that scenario.

Daniel and Teal'c had decided to take Jack out for dinner that night for a private celebration, but Sam had begged off saying she had plans for the evening. In truth she was going to spend the evening relaxing in a nice hot bath before she got ready for her own private retirement celebration. Jack knew to expect her on his doorstep at exactly one minute past midnight when his retirement would be official.

Of course the best laid plans always had to have a few glitches. A late night phone call from Cassie letting Sam know what time she would be getting in from college for the retirement party the next day and a run in one of her stockings had put Sam a few minutes behind schedule. It was 00.05 when she finally pulled into Jack's driveway. She smiled as she saw the doorway open at her approach.

"You're late," he complained.

Even as he spoke Sam moved past him into the house, and as he turned from closing the front door she turned back to him and took off the coat she'd been wearing letting it pool at her feet. He felt his jaw drop. Sam stood before him wearing nothing but a couple of scraps of black lace, one of which was hold up black stockings. Thin, strappy high heels completed the outfit.

"You are so forgiven," he groaned.

Sam gave him no time to recover, stepping forward and backing him up against the door.

"I believe you promised to seduce me," she whispered in his ear before moving so that her lips were almost touching his.

Already he could feel his body responding to the feel of her pressed up against him and he had just enough time to wonder just who was seducing whom before their lips met and with a moan he lifted her into his arms and carried her off to his bed.



In the morning Sam awoke to the feel of lips gently nibbling her neck. Jack was spooned behind her with one arm holding her firmly against him, their legs were tangled and she could feel his heart beating behind her head. His other hand was starting to wander and she could tell that he had been awake long enough that he was very aroused. She couldn't think of a better way to wake up.

Echoing her thoughts, Jack who had heard her breathing change calmly admitted, "You know this is the third time I've retired and I can say without a doubt that I have never enjoyed it anywhere near this much before."

He felt her chuckle at that, and he turned her to face him so he could greet her properly. "Good morning," he whispered leaning in for a kiss.

"Good morning," she murmured against his lips. Then she stretched provocatively and smiled when Jack groaned in response. "Welcome to the rest of your life Jack O'Neill."

He let his eyes roam over the long lean body pressed against his and replied, "One can only hope. Life would be just about perfect if I could wake up like this everyday."

They made love again, a lot more leisurely than they had the night before and then spent another pleasant interlude in the shower. When they finally emerged they were both starving.

"Do you need to borrow some clothes?" Jack asked.

"No, if you could run out to my car there is a bag in there with extra's," she told him.

One he had retrieved more appropriate attire for her, he left her to change while he went to start breakfast. He had mixed up some pancake batter and was just pouring some into the pan when she emerged in jeans and a snug sweater looking radiant. He turned down the heat and pulled her into a kiss.

"I know I told you last night, but I love you Sam," he told her when he came up for air.

"I love you too, Jack," she replied with a sigh.

"So can we make it official?" he inquired.

"What? Loving each other?" she teased.

"No the being engaged thing," he told her as he pulled a jewelry box from behind him on the counter. "I didn't really propose properly the first time. Will you marry me?" he asked.

"Yes, I will," she answered with big smile. Then Jack opened the box and her eyes grew wide. Inside was one of the most stunning diamonds she had ever seen. It wasn't overly large, probably around three quarters of a carat, but it sparkled even in the unnatural light of the overhead kitchen fixture like it was lit from within.

"Oh my god, Jack! It's gorgeous. It must have cost a small fortune," she exclaimed even as he slid it onto her finger. She couldn't resist turning it a bit so that it caught the sunlight from the window, which really caused it to twinkle brightly.

"Well, an old friend from my special ops days bought a jewelry store when he retired. He specializes in high-end diamonds, not like the stuff you see in most stores. I told him to be on the look out for a perfect stone for me and he called a month ago to say he had found it. He gave me a good deal, and set it for me for free" Jack shrugged.

"Well you can call him and tell him I love it," she grinned. Then a wicked thought crossed her mind. "Can I wear it tonight?"

"Well I had an idea about that," he said with a gleam in his eyes.

Ten minutes later Sam had approved his plan and they put together the final details over their delayed breakfast.