Considering how it had started, Jack's day was far more enjoyable than he'd expected it to be. The boys were a good distraction at the best of times, and add Daniel to that mix and Jack was almost able to forget that he was supposed to be nervous and missing Sam. Once Daniel had joined the little group, Hammond had begged off the rest of the afternoon. The General had a ton of things to take care of, since there were aliens coming to Earth for Jack and Sam's wedding, and there were protocols that needed to be observed, and lists that needed to be double-checked.

The Tok'ra weren't the only ones who were coming. There were several humanoid races that were sending a representative to Earth for the wedding; including Bra'tac and a few Jaffa, who had been fitted for formal clothing, although they wouldn't be in the wedding ceremony. They just didn't have anything to wear that would allow them to fit in and Hammond had taken care of that. Suits, and hats that wouldn't look at all out of place in any formal get together were supplied, and Jack had watched as Bra'tac had tried on his outfit, and had to admit the old Jaffa looked pretty sharp. The Tok'ra and other humanoids had also been outfitted properly, but Jacob had been in charge of that, since he could explain to his fellows why it was necessary that they fit in with the humans.

The allies that were sending representatives to the wedding had been thoroughly coached in Earth-like behaviors by several members of various SG teams, including a few dance lessons on the off chance they'd want to join the dancing that would undoubtedly take place at the reception, and Jack and Sam had tried to keep things casual for the reception since the wedding had turned into a far more formal affair than either had planned. Once the President had authorized aliens to come to Earth – and leave the base for the first time for several of them – he'd insisted that the wedding be filled with all the pomp and circumstance that could be crammed into it.

He'd justified it, saying that Sam and Jack deserved to have their wedding be special since they'd saved the world so many times it would be his way of showing the country's appreciation, but Jack knew it was a crock of shit. He'd gone along with the wedding plans, because he didn't have a choice – and because secretly he wanted Sam's wedding to be as special as possible, but he knew it didn't have anything to do with thankfulness on the President's part. The man just wanted a chance to show off his planet, and the wedding was a perfect opportunity.

Whatever it was, though, it was a lot of extra work, and today it was Hammond that had the extra things to take care of. As best man, Daniel had been instrumental in arranging the ceremony, but now it was security that was an issue, and that was the General's responsibility. He had to go back to the base and triple check things, and make sure that there would be no unexpected surprises during Jack's wedding.

So that left Dotty, Daniel and Jack alone with the boys and Jaffer, but they had a fine time. After they picked up Daniel, they'd gone for ice cream, taking their sloppy cones to the park where the boys ran around, chasing each other and showing off while Jack, Dotty and Daniel sat on a bench, and the other two adults tried to keep Jack's mind off of how nervous he was.

Then Devon had produced a football, and had called the adults in to play a game with them, thinking they looked left out sitting on the bench. Jack went willingly, even though he knew his knees were going to punish him later for it. He hadn't played with the boys for a long time, and it'd been far too long since he'd had them all together like this – and God only knew when it'd happen again. He figured he'd enjoy it while he could.

He and Dotty teamed with Tyler, Simon, Andrew and Devon, while Daniel teamed with the rest of the boys, and the rest of the afternoon was spent in a rousing game of football that left Jack aching, Daniel bleeding, and Dotty in a dog pile with Shawn, Jaffer and Simon. All in all, it was a fine afternoon, and by the time they separated the boys to take them home, Jack had to admit that he hadn't missed Sam quite as much as he'd thought he was going to.

Then of course, he and Jaffer went home. The house was empty and quiet, and there even seemed to be a depressing echo when Jack shut the front door. He looked down at the lab, and Jaffer looked back up at him.

"I'm going to call her."

Jaffer wagged his tail. Calling her was a great idea. But so was a treat!

Jack picked up the phone and dialed Janet's number, and Cassandra answered on the second ring.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Cassie."

"Jack! Hi. Are you supposed to be calling?"

"Hey, it's a free country, right? I can call anyone I want."

"Yeah, but mom said that-"

"That I can't see Sam until the wedding, I know." He frowned, even though Jaffer was the only one who saw it. "She didn't say anything about not talking to her, though, right?"

"Well... no..." There was doubt in Cassandra's voice, but Jack jumped on the no as quickly as he could.

"See?" He fished out a bag of treats from the treat drawer for Jaffer as he was talking. "Can I talk to her, please?"

"I suppo-"Cassie's voice broke off, and was replaced a moment later by Janet Fraiser's, and Jack's frown turned into a scowl.

"Colonel O'Neill, you're not supposed-"

"I need to talk to Sam, Doc," Jack said.

"No. You're supposed to-"

"It's an emergency."

She hesitated, but she couldn't tell over the phone if he was telling the truth or not. His voice was certainly serious enough. Finally, he heard her sigh.

"Fine. But only for a moment."

There was a pause, and then another voice came on the phone.

"Jack? What's wrong?"

He smiled. God, he missed her.

"Nothing. I just wanted to hear your voice."

"You said it was an emer-"

"Shhh!" He interrupted her, quickly. "If Janet knows I lied she won't let me talk to you. Just pretend I'm telling you something serious."

Sam smiled on the other end of the phone, and then schooled her expression into one more serious. She even managed a frown.

"That sounds fairly serious."

"I just..." Jack shrugged. "Did you have a good day?"

"We tried on our dresses. The girls look beautiful."

Jack smiled. "I bet they do. Are they still there?"

"No, we took them for ice cream, then took them home. It's just Cassie, Janet and me. How was your day?"

"Not too bad... we played football with the boys and Dotty."

"Oh?"

"Daniel fell and cut himself."

"On grass??"

Jack smiled.

"Yup. It's not serious, just a scratch. He's fine."

Leave it to Daniel. Sam rolled her eyes, and looked over at Janet, who was watching her impatiently.

"I better go, Jack... Thanks for letting me know about Daniel."

"I'll see you tomorrow, Sam."

"Yes, you will. I love you."

Jack smiled. God, he was getting soft in his old age. He'd never have felt so gooey inside at a simple phrase before.

"I love you, too."

He held the phone a moment, even after the line went dead, and couldn't help but smile as he finally set it down. He looked at Jaffer, who was waiting for a treat. Maybe they'd survive the night, after all.

"Is everything all right?" Janet asked as Sam hung up the phone.

Carter nodded.

"I guess Daniel cut himself playing football and Jack wanted to let me know."

That wasn't a complete lie, so Sam didn't even feel guilty for saying it.

Well, it was hardly an emergency, but Janet was mollified, and nodded.