A/N: It seems like all I did this weekend was write like a crazy person. Obviously this story is fiction. Obviously Disney World is real. But our guys are going to be zipping around the park much faster than you'd normally be able to do. Just imagine the long lines of children running away when they see Teal'c coming or something. Please do not attempt to use this story as a guide to Disney World.

Thanks for the info, ilovesg1. And Mackenzie Jackson, you are entirely correct. More about that later, of course.

This chapter might be a bit angsty for Disney World, but don't worry, just blame that on Pete as well (see, it's fun to blame things on Pete, isn't it?). Tomorrow will be funfunfun. Special Bonus Round: find all the references to other TV shows and movies.

Ch 4: Can't have Disney without Fireworks

The group found a gently sloping hill and sat down as the fireworks show started. There was a slight chill in the air, as well as the smoky smell of the fireworks display, which was actually, Jack soon discovered, a combination fireworks and light show spectacular that was... well, spectacular. So the Disney people had... aptly named it.

As they all watched, they gradually migrated closer to each other for warmth. Jack glanced to his right and saw that Cassie was ensconced between Teal'c and Janet, and Daniel had sidled right up to Jack without him being any the wiser. If any other man had tried to sit that close to him, Jack wouldn't have tolerated it. Even at Disney World. But since it was his still semi-recently ascended best friend, he decided it was okay.

Jack stalled looking to his left, where he knew Carter was sitting, by turning his face up towards the fireworks again. It was dangerous looking at her these days. Ever since Daniel came back she had been so... different. Daniel had called it 'gung-ho,' which was certainly part of it, but there was also an aspect of calmness that hadn't been there before. At the same time, this past year he had noticed her becoming a lot more dependent and independent at the same time. And he simultaneously loved and hated it.

When she felt like it, she teased Daniel, Teal'c, and even Jack, something she would never have done while they were on duty before. And when she caught him looking at her like he wasn't supposed to, she didn't duck her head anymore. Sometimes she even returned it. He had very nearly missed his plane to South America to go after Daniel and Lee just because of the way she had looked at him and told him to be careful.

She had also made him want to wring her neck several times recently. Not only had she nearly got herself killed in that demented pod-race with Warrick, whilst she was off getting her ya-yas out he had been stuck in diplomatic meetings.

And skipping on off into occupied territory with absolutely zero backup while the gate network was down, with only Felger for company? That had to be the stupidest thing she'd ever done! When he'd bitched about it to Teal'c, Teal'c had said something about it being an increase in confidence in her own abilities. Jack told him to shut up and they had stolen an Al'kesh to go pick her up.

Then she had somehow convinced General Hammond to let her visit Prometheus for some science experiment and got herself stranded with what Fraiser had called, "The worst concussion the SGC has seen to date." Sure, she'd also managed to get herself out of two of those three scenarios, and he and T had got her out of the third and snagged an Al'kesh to boot, but just who in the hell did she think she was, running into dangerous situations with total disregard for her own safety? That was supposed to be his job, she was the smart one!

Once he started down this train of thought it was very easy to let his mind get close to the biggest problem he'd ever had with her but still hadn't acknowledged out loud. The one that was metaphorically guarded in an Alcatraz-like prison surrounded by an electric fence with barbed wire on top and a pack of guard dogs on an island surrounded by sharks with friggin' laser beams attached to their heads and... yeah. The one he tried not to think about at all costs, basically. The stalker cop whose recent appearance had actually made him miss that damn Martouf and that creepy Narim.

"Jack are you okay?" Daniel asked quietly.

"Yeah, fine, why?" Jack said quickly, putting on a blank look.

"I've just never seen anyone look so... angry... at fireworks before."

"Oh. I was just thinking."

"Oh. I'm going to go get some hot chocolate from that vendor we passed, want some?"

"You? Hot chocolate?"

"Well, if they have coffee... Cassie and Janet are cold..." Daniel leaned forward so he could see Sam past Jack and asked, "You want hot chocolate? Sam? She's as out of it as you were, but she looks cold. I'll be back." Daniel was up and gone before Jack had a chance to offer to help.

Jack finally gave into the temptation to look at her. Daniel was right, she was completely spaced out. It was a quirk he had very nearly forgotten about her: Carter liked fire. Not in a creepy pyro kind of way, but she liked it. He'd known that for over thirty years... well, okay, not really. But he'd first noticed it in 1969, even though it was only about five years ago. But he remembered being surprised around that campfire; it was one of the first times he'd seen her really relaxed, and definitely the first time while on a mission.

And although he preferred not to think about Edora or anything Edora-related if he could help it, that first night with the whole team had really been nice. Sam had been pretty impressed with their meteor shower as well, until they'd all got the scare of a lifetime as they saw how close the rocks were actually getting.

It was a seemingly impossible contradiction that someone whose brain was so full of scientific and military knowledge and technology could watch a firework and light show like the one she was currently so entranced with without reducing it to a series of chemical and physical reactions. But the proof was right there curled up in a little ball next to him. From the look on her face she had no thought in her head at all beyond 'that's cool.' Which was also very cool.

Daniel plopped back down beside him and started passing out drinks. He handed Jack two hot cups with plastic lids. "The one on the left is coffee."

"Thanks."

Jack was reluctant to break Carter out of her little trance but she did look like she was freezing. He set the coffee down carefully and nudged her shoulder with the hot chocolate. "Hot chocolate."

She reached for it absently and he pressed it into her hand and watched her sip at it distractedly for several minutes. Finally, the contrast between the hot drink and how chilly she had become while she wasn't paying attention made her a bit more aware of her surroundings.

She glanced around self-consciously to see how many of the group had noticed how out of it she was, but all she saw was her CO giving her one of his looks. The eye-twinkling one. Last time she saw it she had felt like hell. Actually, she usually felt like hell when she got that look from him.

She looked down at her hot chocolate sheepishly and said, "Sorry I was kind of..."

"I noticed," he said quietly. "Daniel thought you were cold."

"I didn't know I was cold until I was drinking something hot," she mumbled into the cup, taking another sip.

"Are you still cold, we can go... no, maybe not," he corrected himself at the intense look of disappointment that crossed her face at the suggestion. "Well, I didn't think I'd be needing a jacket in Florida. If I had one I'd share."

"While you were still in it?" she surprised both of them by asking.

Jack looked away, at the cup of coffee in his hand. That was two years ago. Things were different now. "Well, it wouldn't really be sharing otherwise," he said lightly.

She laughed and said, "No I suppose not."

Eventually, she went back to looking up at the fireworks display and he did the same. It made his neck twinge a bit looking up at that angle after the uncomfortable airplane seat, but the fireworks were cool enough to make it worth it. Sam inched her way closer to him until their sides touched and she could put her head on his shoulder. He looked down at the top of her head in surprise, but he didn't move.

He sighed slightly. After last year, when Daniel had been gone and it had been just the two of them on her birthday, he kind of thought he had her pretty well figured out; that they were on the same page, even though neither of them had ever really talked about the thing between them. Still, he felt like they didn't need to, and in fact talking would be completely counterproductive until they were at a point where they could do whatever the hell they wanted.

Then this whole stupid Shanahan thing came out of nowhere... although, if he thought about it fairly, she had been acting differently before Shanahan already, so it wasn't really entirely the stupid cop's fault. Something else had changed first; and while that had maybe led to Shanahan, for her to come to a point where she actually let her brother fix her up with someone clearly showed that something else was really to blame for all this. He knew he'd never ask her what it was though.

She was doing her best to keep Pete completely separate from everything else, and while he sort of thought it was probably a gesture of apology in his direction, he couldn't help but feel like she was smarter than that. She had to know that the fact that there was a Pete in the picture at all changed everything, whether he was actually hanging around much or not. Everyone else clearly understood that, and Sam was smarter than all of them put together!

Still, she had become a lot more friendly and relaxed while they were at work. They were really getting along better than they ever had before. And she told him it wasn't serious with Pete, and he believed her. He let out a frustrated sigh involuntarily.

It was so loud it made Cassie and Daniel both look at him. He shook his head slightly and pretended to turn his attention back to the light show. He'd been through all these thoughts before and they always led back to the exact same place: as long as Sam was pretending Pete was a completely separate thing, he could do that too. It was especially easy when she had her head on his shoulder. This was supposed to be a fun trip, after all. Sam and Daniel were clearly already having a blast. Two seconds after seeing them in the lobby, seeing how happy and relaxed they looked, Jack had known he made the right call convincing Hammond they needed this trip.

The show ended and they all got to their feet, Jack's knees popping loudly. As they walked back to the spot where they could catch their ride back to the hotel, Jack could hear Cassie asking her mom about the fireworks.

Sam moved closer to them in the little moving pack they all made and tried to start offering an explanation about different chemicals and temperatures and whatnot producing different colors. Cassie lost interest quickly, migrated over to Daniel, and started asking him which 'country' he visited at Epcot had been the most accurately represented. Daniel happily launched into a comparative analysis that very nearly put Jack to sleep even though they were still walking.

Sam talked to Janet for a minute and then fell back in step beside Jack, walking fast and looking down at the ground. "You okay?" he asked quietly.

"Yeah, of course," she said with a smile that didn't reach her eyes at all.

"She's... seventeen."

"And good at it," Sam muttered as they got in the vehicle that took them back to the hotel.

The ride, which made several stops, nearly put Jack, Sam, and Janet to sleep. Teal'c never really looked tired, and Cassie and Daniel were still talking, Daniel glad to have such a captivated audience for a change.

"So, what's on the schedule for tomorrow, Carter?" Jack asked as they reached their hotel lobby, trying to get her attention off of Cassie and Daniel.

Sam knew what he was doing but she seized on it gratefully anyway. "Well, Daniel and I picked out some things we think you'll all like... there's something Teal'c is just going to die over..." she got so excited she almost told him what it was, but she glanced at Teal'c and could tell he was listening. "Anyway, we kind of picked one thing we wanted to do with each of you guys, then we thought we could kind of wander around and do what we like, then after a whole day of that, everyone could pick something out themselves to do Sunday before we go home."

"I knew you'd have a plan."

They got off the elevator and walked down the hall to their rooms. "Well, it's not like we designated specific routes or anything but... we wanted you guys to get to see as much as possible while you're here. Seriously, sir, this has been so great... and I'm really glad you all were here today for our actual birthday..."

"Well, the birthday celebration continues throughout the weekend," Jack said mildly. Everyone started saying goodnight outside their respective doors. Sam hugged everyone goodnight and told Daniel she'd be in their room in just a minute. He nodded, said goodnight to Jack, and slipped into their room.

"So our birthday is a week-long holiday now, sir?" Sam asked.

"Yeah. Next year, if all goes as planned, the banks will even be closed. And there's talk of a parade too."

She smiled down at the thick carpet.

"Well... if I'm going to be traipsing all over the park after you crazy kids tomorrow I probably should have been in bed an hour ago," Jack said, pulling his hands out of his pockets but hanging them at his side awkwardly. He raised one of them like he was going to touch her, let it drop, and shoved both hands back in his pockets. Then he leaned in and kissed her on the cheek. Maybe it was slightly more than friendly in nature, but it was hard to make a peck on the cheek very passionate, and truth be told she had received more enthusiastic kisses from Daniel and Janet.

"Happy Birthday, Carter." Jack flashed a smile and had moved next door, swiped his key-card, and disappeared inside before Sam had time to do anything other than stare at him in shock.

What the hell? Was that supposed to be her birthday kiss? Well, that just wouldn't do at all. She thought everything had been so wonderful all night... okay, Cassie was in a really grumpy mood but everyone else seemed to be catching the happy Disney atmosphere fairly easily, dinner had been wonderful, they had even cuddled a little during that magnificent fireworks show... so why all of a sudden was their annual tradition reduced to a light peck on the cheek?

She was seriously entertaining the notion of banging on his door and demanding an explanation for what had just happened. Teal'c already knew about their 'tradition' anyway...

Her own door was yanked open suddenly and Daniel pulled her inside and shut the door. "Sam, what was that about!" he demanded eagerly.

"How did you..."

"Peephole," he admitted with a grin. "Now. Come on, you've got some splainin' to do, young lady!"