Nate and Jack had plenty of help setting the table. Daniel and Teal'c both stepped forward to grab dishes and silverware, while Cassie and Sally went into the kitchen to help Sam with the last minute food preparations. Potatoes had been boiling and were ready to be mashed – Sally took care of that – and there were rolls to be pulled from the warmer, which Cassie started on. The fridge was emptied of all the food it had been filled with during the last few days, as mounds of assorted food was set on the counter.

"Jack?" Sam called. "Will you set up the card table?"

The card table – which was a bit sturdier than most card tables – was going to be used to hold all the food before it was served – leaving more space for people to eat. It had been Jack's idea, and it was a good one, Sam had decided. It would also hold all the desserts once the main meal had been eaten and cleared away. Jack did as he was asked, and soon the food that was filling the counters was sent into the dining room and onto the card table, leaving room for the turkey, which was ready to come out of the oven.

Jack wouldn't let Sam lift the heavy bird. He grabbed the potholders and opened the oven himself, pulling the large roasting pan out as Sam and the others watched appreciatively.

"It smells wonderful, Sam," Sally said. Cassie nodded her agreement.

Sam beamed.

"I was-"

The doorbell interrupted her, and there was a mad dash as all three labs rushed for the door to see who was on the other side.

"I'll get it, Sam," Ian said, mainly to get away from his mother's mothering. He loved her, but there were some things even love would only put up with so much of, after all.

"Thanks, Ian."

The cadet headed for the door, wading through dogs, and sliding his hand along Bubba's back, grinning as he opened the door. And saw yet another person he'd never have expected to see standing there – and it was obvious that the visitor felt the same way, because they both stood staring at each other.

"Ian?"

"General Carter?"

"What are you doing here?"

"What are you doing here?"

"My daughter lives here, and I was invited to – hey, is that Bubba? What's he doing here? I thought you were at the-"

"Dad?"

Sam had waded through the dogs, too, leaving the turkey to Jack to carve and the stuffing to Sally.

General Carter's face lit up when he saw her, and he hugged her tight for a long moment.

"Hi, sweetheart."

"Hi." She smiled. "I'm glad you made-"

"General Carter's your dad?" Ian asked Sam.

"You know him?" Sam asked, surprised.

"What's Ian doing here, Sam?" Jacob asked. "Is Nathan here, Ian?"

"Yes, Sir, he's-"

"Jacob!"

Nathan had come to the door as well, mainly to see if they needed help pulling Bubba off whoever was at the door. The lab was well trained, but occasionally that training would fly out his ears if he got excited.

"Nathan." Jacob Carter's grin was huge, now, and he brushed past Sam to shake his friend's hand. "It's been way too long."

Sam and Ian stared at each other as the two retired Generals walked off into the living room, where Maggie had come to see who had her husband so excited and was now greeting Jacob with a hug.

"You know my dad?" Sam asked.

Ian nodded.

"He's a friend of my dad's..."

Obviously.

Sam smiled; pleased. She shouldn't have been surprised, after all. Ian's dad was a General – and as Hammond had said only a few days before; there weren't all that many of them. They had to all at least know each other – although from the looks of it, General Brooks and Jacob Carter were close. Sam wondered why she'd never been introduced to Brooks before.

"I wonder why I haven't met him...?" She mused, thinking aloud, more than actually asking Ian.

"If he's anything like my dad, he probably was gone too much to bother introducing you to his buddies," Ian said with just a trace of bitterness in his expression.

Sam shook her head, closing the door.

"You met him."

"Because he's retired, now, Sam." Ian said, looking over at his father, who was talking to Daniel and Teal'c, while Jacob went to say hi to the others. "My mom makes him stay home, now – more or less – or she goes with him..."

He shrugged, realizing that he probably sounded like he was whining – and he wasn't. That was the past, and it was just that; past.

"No matter," he told her, putting his arm around her waist and taking her back into the dining room. "We're practically family, you know that?"

"Hey – that's my wife you're being family with," Jack said, catching the end of the sentence as they walked into the dining room, and noticing Ian's arm around Sam.

The cadet smiled, and relinquished his hold on Sam, but Jacob came over munching on a handful of olives.

"Don't let him intimidate you, Ian... he's a pushover."

"I'm not afraid of him, Jacob," Ian said. "He's too old to-"

"I'm holding a knife, young man," Jack interrupted.

"Not to mention, he's younger than I am," Jacob told him.

"And he's younger than me, too," Nate said.

"So, you're all three old..." Ian said, stepping behind Sam to use her as a shield, and pulling his mother close, as well. He wasn't above using that mother son bond when he needed to. "Lucky thing Doctor Fraiser's here... in case one of you has a heart attack or something... better keep the cholesterol low, Sam, just to make-"

"Want me to hold him down while you pull out his fingernails, Jack?" Jacob asked.

"I don't need help," Jack said, smiling.

"All he needs is a shovel," Cassie said, stepping behind Ian and using the shield as well.

Sam laughed, and moved out of Ian's grip.

"We'll worry about that later, you guys," she told them. "Let's eat before the food gets cold."