Oh my god! So many reviews!! I think I passed out for a minute there. Thank you all so much. I never expected such a reaction. Thank you.

A big thank you to everyone who reviwed, especially Beatrice Otter, who gave me the low down on the regs. Thank you for taking the time to write that.

My thanks again to G.Eliot, who yes is a geliot. But in the nicest possible way. (I called my sister that today. You should have seen the look of pure confusion on her face! LOL Classic!)

Anyway, the reason that chapter two is up so soon is that I had a load of pages written, but it was too long so I cut it down into three chapters.

And don't worry; the briefing room scene is next, with a few tweaks from me.

So, on with the show...

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"Consider yourself recalled to active duty Colonel."

The words bounced around in Jack's head as the two Majors drove him home again.

When General Hammond had first said those words, he had felt elated. The prospect of being back in saddle, so to speak, appealed to him. As much as he loved retirement, he occasionally found it dull. He had been an active man ever since he joined the Air Force in his late teens, and as much as he liked playing the house husband to Sam, there was only so much Simpson's one could watch. Kawalski's wide grin and happy handshake were ego boosters, and they had walked out of the gate-room.

Then, it had hit him… Sam.

If he was now in active duty, he outranked her… by three ranks. What was going to happen to them? He tried to get to General Hammond to talk to him, but Samuels had blocked his way.

"I'm to escort you home, Sir" Samuels told him.

"I know. I just need to speak to the General. If you'll…" Jack tried to get past the Major, but Samuels again blocked his path.

"General Hammond is on the phone with the President at the moment, Sir. And it seems like he is going to be a while. You may speak to him before the briefing tomorrow."

"But…"

"Sir…!"

"OK. Fine." Jack had grumbled and followed Samuels to the surface.

Now, he sat in the back of the car, trying to think of what he was going to tell Sam about being recalled to active service. He couldn't tell her about the Gate, no matter how much he wanted to. He knew she'd give her right arm to work on it, but he couldn't.

Besides, Sam was so smart. She knew he'd never make a decision like this without discussing it with her. He knew he'd have to come up with a really good cover story to explain his recall.

"We're here, Sir." Major Harrison called out form the driver's seat as they pulled up outside Jack's house.

"Of course, thanks." Jack replied absentmindedly as he climbed out of the car. The two officers drove away, and coming to a decision, Jack went in to his house and got the keys to his truck

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The drive to Sam's house was short and uneventful, as it was 01.10am on a Monday morning and most sane people were in bed, asleep. He let himself in the front door of Sam's house, closing it softly behind him and crept up the stairs. The ground floor was in darkness, and Jack didn't want to startle his wife if she was asleep.

He needn't have worried though, because as soon as he reached the top of the stairs, he saw the light shining under the door of her lab. Jack knocked softly and pushed open the door.

Sam was looking into a microscope, her laptop by her side filled with equations.

"Sam?" Jack said, trying to get her attention without disturbing her too much. "Sam!" he said louder when he got no response. Sam jumped a little at the sudden loudness and whirled around.

"Jack! What are you doing here?" she asked, walking over to kiss him lightly. "I thought you had to go out. What's up?"

"Um, Sam. I need to talk to you." Jack began. "Can we go grab a beer or something out of your fridge?"

Sam narrowed her eyes at him. Something was up. Jack was acting strangely, even for him. He seemed… nervous, unsure of himself and that was a red flag for her.

"Ok Jack." Sam agreed and they left the lab together. "But, I want coffee not beer. I still have work to do."

"Sam. It's a quarter one in the morning. You have work in the morning. You gotta get some rest." Jack told her as he slung an arm over her shoulders and herded her towards her kitchen.

Sam blinked in surprise. "It's after one?" she exclaimed, surprised.

"Yep. Baby, you need to get some rest." They entered the kitchen together and Jack gently pushed Sam onto a stool as took two beers out of the fridge and handed one to Sam. She wrinkled her nose at it, but then shrugged and took a drink. Jack took a long pull of his beer and turned to face the window. Sam studied her husband's back, her concern growing.

"Ok Jack, what's wrong?" she asked him. "You're starting to worry me. First off, you tell me that you have to go somewhere, but won't say where. Then you come to my house at quarter past one in the morning and…"

"Sam!" Jack spoke suddenly, interrupting her. "I've been recalled. As of twelve thirty this morning, I have been recalled to active duty. I'm not retired any more."

He still faced the window, watching his wife's reaction in the clear glass. He saw her face pale, and then suffuse with colour and she slumped down on the stool, her normally perfect posture curved in shock.

Silence reigned in the kitchen, as Sam digested the startling news. Jack was a Colonel again. He was her superior. He… The phone call she had gotten earlier raced through her head.

"Jack, it has to do with the Stargate, doesn't it?" she asked him. Jack spun around to face her.

"What? What do you know about the Stargate?"

(A/N I know in season two's 'Secrets', Jack is much more controlled when the reporter comes up to him, but this is his wife we're talking about here. He's allowed to be a bit more emotional. At least, he is in my universe.)

"Jack," Sam slid off the stool and walked towards him. "General Hammond called me tonight. He told me what happened. He also said that he was recalling his experts on the Stargate. I just thought he meant Kawalski and Ferretti. I didn't think he meant you. I'm right though, aren't I? You're going through again?"

Jack slid his arms around her waist.

"How do you know about this? How do you know General Hammond? Why washe calling you?"

It was truth time now, but Sam found herself reluctant to tell him that she knew about his involvement in the programme. He could be mad at her for not telling him

"Jack," Sam took a deep breath and faced him, "I wasn't reassigned to Roosevelt Research Science Station. I've been working on the Stargate Programme for three years, that's two years before you went through. I was trying to get it to work. And when Dr. Jackson did get it to work, I was in charge of trying to get it to work on different co-ordinates. I have been transferred to Cheyenne Mountain. I start tomorrow."

Jack stood in silence, soaking this all in. He could be mad at her for not telling him that she knew about the gate, but he knew how sensitive that information was. If there was anything he understood, it was classified information.

"Well, I probably won't be your direct superior. I mean, you're a scientist. You…" Jack trailed off as he saw the look in Sam's eyes.

"You're coming through with us, aren't you?" he asked her, his heart sinking.

"Yes, I am. What are we going to do Jack?"

"Well, I'll talk to the General tomorrow. It's best to be honest with him from the beginning."

"We'll talk to the General tomorrow" Sam corrected him and Jack gave her a wane smile

"What about the rest of the base staff?" she asked him. "What do we tell them?" Sam didn't say, but Jack knew she was worried about what people would say if word got around that she was married to the Colonel. She wanted to be known in her own right, not just as 'The Colonel's Wife'.

"Well, I suggest we act like we've never met. That way, people will react to you as you, not as my wife. Because, as unfair as it is, people would judge you for being married to me."

"OK. I'm not sure about this, but I'll go with you on this one… for now. Just until we talk to the General."

"Alright." Jack dropped his arms from around Sam's waist, and stepped back.

"I'd better go." He told her. "I still have to get my uniform ready for tomorrow."

"Right. And it's probably best if I stay here tonight. So we won't be leaving the same house in the morning." Sam forced the words out.

This was wrong. For the first time in since they met, they felt uncomfortable with each other. Jack couldn't stand it, and stepped forward to pull her close.

"Listen Sam. I love you. I always will. Nothing and nobody is ever gonna change that. If it comes down to it, I won't go through, ok?"

Then he kissed her quickly, and was out of the house before she could respond.

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So, what do you think of chapter two?

I'll upload chapter three in a few days, but after that my updates will be slower cos I dont have them written yet.

Hugs and kisses

Lieutenants lady

And, don't worry G.Eliot. I haven't forgotten my Malcolm. (As if I could forget our boys!) In fact, you'll be happy to know that I'll be working on the next chapter of The Girl All the Bad Guys Want right after I upload this, ok? You should have it in a few days.