Sorry this took so long...I had some revisons to do. And I am working on other stories at the same time. So its been slow going. Thanks for the reviews.

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It had been a week since O'Neill had received confirmation of resignation. He had had another week of duty before he was officially retired. It had been a difficult week, knowing that this would be the last week he would be officially involved with the star gate. He spent a few nights roaming the corridors. He would drop in on Daniel to see what he was working on and bug him. He also occasionally dropped in on Carter, but she always seemed too busy to talk. He decided that pushing him away was her way of coping. He tried to respect her decision, but he missed her and couldn't resist the chance to make her smile.

Jack was sitting in his office reading one of the last few reports that he ever had to read before heading to find something to eat with Teal'c. There was a knock at his door.

"Come in" he said still reading.

Carter opened the door and laid some files on his desk. "Here are the latest reports sir."

He looked up at her. She looked exhausted. He would've told her to take a day off if he knew that she would. But he suspected that she was working more than normal.

"Thanks Carter, I'll get to them as soon as I can."

She nodded and turned to leave.

"Carter"

She turned to face him. "Yes sir?"

"They are bringing in my replacement today so I can show him the ropes. I would like it if you and the guys would be here."

"Yes sir, when?"

"1500 hours"

"Okay, I will let Daniel and Teal'c know."

"Thanks Colonel"

She smiled. "Yes sir" With that, she left him alone with his pile of paperwork.

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"General Baxter, this is Colonel Samantha Carter, Doctor Daniel Jackson, and Teal'c. They make up SG 1." O'Neill explained.

"SG1 that was the team you were part of was it not general?" Baxter asked.

"Yeah, they are my old team. It was great serving with all of them. Even Daniel." O'Neill said.

"Thanks Jack." Daniel said sarcastically, extending his hand to General Baxter.

"Good to finally be meeting the people who have saved all of our butts on more than one occasion." Baxter said, shaking the rest of SG1's hands.

O'Neill smiled. He wasn't sure yet, but he thought he might like this guy.

"We are going to have your mission briefing so that General Baxter can see how they work." O'Neill said opening the door to the briefing/debriefing room.

Carter led the briefing as always. It was a particularly uninteresting one as briefings go, but O'Neill tried to stay with her. After it was over, General Baxter asked some questions and Carter gave him the same cryptic answers that she always gave.

"In English Carter." O'Neill spoke up.

She raised an eyebrow and continued in 'O'Neill terms'.

General Baxter thanked them all for their help and said his goodbyes, stating that he had more reading to catch up on.

O'Neill finally had his team; his friends alone.

"Thanks for helping me out with this. I figured the best way for him to learn about us was to experience some the workings. I want you all to know that serving with you has been one of the greatest things I have ever done. You are the best to me, but of course I am biased." O'Neill smiled.

"We love you too Jack." Daniel said.

"Daniel, you turned out alright. We got off to a rocky start, but you are one the coolest geeks I know."

Daniel smiled.

"Teal'c, you're the man. We have come a long way because of you. You have saved my butt countless times. Thanks T."

"Indeed, I too owe you for my life here on earth. I would still be in service to the Goa'uld if it had not been for you."

"Carter" O'Neill paused, "You are the brains of this outfit. You have gotten us out of so many scrapes. I am proud of you. Thanks for keeping us alive out there. You are definitely way smarter than me."

Sam smiled and nodded.

"Now, you are all dismissed so you can get ready for the BBQ. That's an order."

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It was a party at Jack's. Most of the base was there, even General Hammond made it. Daniel took lots of video with his camera. Cassie took pictures of SG 1, the original team. As the evening wore on, the party's patrons dwindled. Soon all that were left were Jack, Sam, Daniel, and Teal'c. Cassie took Sam's car home because she was meeting some friends. Jack assured Cassie that he would get Sam home safely. The four sat in the living room. Daniel was harassing Sam about a mission they had just returned from. She had gotten two 'marriage' proposals from some natives. Sam just slugged him in the arm.

"So" Daniel said, attempting to get conversation started. "What are you going to do first now that you are retired?"

Jack smiled. "Absolutely nothing. Sleep in, drink beer, watch TV, and sit outside on my deck. Stuff like that."

"Ah, I think I need to retire." Daniel said smiling.

"You will surely be missed O'Neill." Teal'c said.

"Thanks T; I will miss you guys too."

Sam had been fairly quiet for most of the evening. Except when each of the members of SG 1 were telling their best O'Neill story. Jack was reminded of some of his not so great moments.

Daniel loved the story telling, but the night had to come to an end. He looked down at his watch. "Well Teal'c, we better get moving if we are going to get you back before curfew."

Teal'c raised an eyebrow.

Jack shook his head at Daniel's humor.

Daniel and Teal'c headed back to the base and Jack and Sam were alone. Jack grabbed a beer and motioned Sam outside to the deck. They sat side by side, looking up at the night sky.

Jack spoke first. "So, you've been quiet tonight."

Sam nodded, "Yeah"

Jack's brows furrowed. "Sam, what's up?"

She sighed. "I just can not believe it is over."

"I know time flies when you are saving the world."

She smiled.

"C'mere Sam"

He put his arm around her and she put her head on his shoulder. They sat there in silence for almost an hour before Jack spoke.

"Do you want me to take you home?"

Sam was practically asleep. "Yeah, I should get home to Cassie." She said slowly. He nodded.

"C'mon" he helped her stand up and grabbed his keys. "Let's go."

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"Goodnight Sam" Jack said after he parked his truck in front of her house.

She looked up at him. "Good night Jack" They hugged and he kissed her forehead. She got out and headed to her door. Jack made sure she got in okay and then drove off.

Cassie was still up when Sam came in.

"I didn't expect you back" Cassie said.

"I am here and ready for bed." Sam said.

"Do you need to talk?" Cassie asked.

Sam smiled, "No, I just need sleep."

"Okay, I will see you in the morning then." Cassie said, grabbing a snack from the fridge.

"Okay, goodnight." Sam said as she headed towards her bedroom.

At last, my bed. She thought, I never thought I would get here today.

She put her pajamas on and slid under the covers. She lay on her back and thought about the day's events. She had been hard on Jack lately, she knew that. But it had to be that way. She couldn't focus with thoughts of him leaving racing through her head. It was distracting. She had so much on her mind lately. Jack leaving, a new leader, Cassie, her dad, let alone current missions, projects and problems. She tried to focus on work. It was piling up no that everything was changing hands. They had to break in a new leader. She was not sure how he was going to react to her. He seemed okay so far, but some men are threatened by women like her. She had to stop thinking and get to sleep. She wasn't supposed to work tomorrow, but she needed to get some work done. Cassie was going to be out the whole day anyway. She closed her eyes and tried to think happy thoughts.

Jack decided that he wasn't at all tired and he didn't want to go home to an empty house. He wanted Sam to be there, but obviously she wasn't. She'd been so distant with him lately, especially tonight. Yes, there were some changes ahead; but he somehow thought that she would handle it differently. This retirement thing really had her shook. 'Maybe I just need to give her some time' he thought. 'Go to Minnesota for a week. Give her some time to resolve some issues.' He parked his truck in the lot of an all night diner. 'Yeah, I think that is what I'll do.'

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The phone rang as Sam got in the door. She threw her stuff down on the table and answered it.

"Hello?"

"Hey there" Jack's voice came over the receiver. Sam hadn't talked to him since he got back from 'fishing'. He had left messages. She had been meaning to call him, but she wasn't home much and when she was she was sleeping. She also suspected that subconsciously she was avoiding him.

"Hi"

"You are hard to get a hold of" He said

"Yeah, I have been working a lot lately. I haven't even been home to read my mail."

"Samantha"

"I know, I know. But things are a little bit crazy right now. General Baxter is just getting used to the program and the base. He got lost the other day."

"That bad huh?"

"No, not really, just different. You and Hammond had a lot longer time to get aquatinted. This is the fourth leader the program has had in two years."

"Yeah, I know, I am sorry."

There was a brief silence.

"Well, I really should get some sleep before I fall asleep standing here." Sam said.

"Okay" Jack said solemnly. He didn't sound happy at all. But Sam really was tired.

"I will talk to you soon."

"Yeah, okay"

"Nite"

"Yeah, goodnight Carter"

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