See Chapter One for full disclaimer and author's notes.

Chapter Three

The evening passed in pleasant companionship as the once and current members of SG-1 spent their night eating and drinking together; something they had not had time to indulge in as a group since the General's promotion. Jack found himself more relaxed than he had been in weeks, and was reluctant for it to end. The meal and company were more than welcome and he appreciated the opportunity to no longer be "The General" and just be "Jack", even if for a short time.

Nursing a cold beer, sitting with his feet stretched out in front of him, Jack only half listened to the debate between Daniel and Teal'c, not really interested in the topic but more content to simply allow their voices to wash over him, a sense of familiarity leaving him feeling pleasantly warm. He could hear Carter puttering around in the kitchen, then silence as she finished up the cleaning. Jack expected her to join them in the living room and was somewhat surprised to hear the sliding door open as Sam slipped through to the back deck. Jack turned slightly to glance over his shoulder and out the back door, catching sight of Sam, her back to him, her face upturned toward the night sky. Her pensive stance struck him as odd and a bit disconcerting.

Pushing himself to his feet, Jack headed out the door Sam had used, closing it quietly behind him. Coming to stand at the railing at Sam's side, he followed her gaze up, familiar constellations passing before him like old friends. They stood in companionable silence, neither immediately inclined to speak. Finally Jack drew in a deep breath, gave Sam a sidelong look and decided to break the silence.

"So. Whatcha doin' out here by yourself?"

Sam half turned toward him, leaning one elbow on the railing. "Just needed some air, sir."

Jack nodded at the sentiment, his own need for solitude well known among his former team. "I can relate to that. Sure don't get much of that anymore, do we?"

Sam smiled slightly. "No, sir, we don't. Burdens of command."

"Yeah. So how's that goin' anyway? We haven't really had much time to talk since you took command of SG-1."

"Fine, sir. Better than I had imagined, actually. I expected some period of feeling awkward around the guys, but things have been going very smoothly."

"Well, just be sure you let me know if there's anything that comes up."

"I'm sure things will go just fine, but thank you for the offer sir. I'll keep that in mind."

Jack paused, carefully framing the question still niggling at the back of his mind. He knew there was something bothering Carter, and had honestly thought it was the newness of command. But now that she had reassured him things were fine on SG-1, he was at a loss to explain her recent tenseness. Not that anyone who didn't know Sam Carter well would have picked up on it, but after serving with the Colonel for just over eight years, Jack could read the subtle signs in her posture and manner. Not to mention the fact that for several weeks, Carter had been going home more or less on time.

But that had abruptly changed a bit over two weeks ago and she could be counted on to be found in her lab until well into the night. Not that Jack had been keeping tabs on her, exactly. Oh hell, who was he kidding? Of course he was checking up on her; on all of them, truth be told. He suspected he already knew her reasons for her shortening her usual 70 hour work week to something more respectable, but it wasn't something he really wanted to dwell on.

"So, how's everything else?"

The question quite frankly shocked Sam into speechlessness. Jack O'Neill was hardly someone who generally indulged in small talk unless he had a good reason. And it wasn't as though in the past they hadn't talked, as friends if nothing else. But for him to come right out and inquire about her life in general was certainly new territory for both of them. Sam pursed her lips for a moment, gazing back up toward the heavens that had so fascinated her as a child. How to answer such a loaded question?

Jack knew he had surprised her and was willing to patiently wait for Sam to reply. When she turned to look back up into the night sky, he briefly worried he had perhaps pushed a bit too far, into territory they had both implicitly agreed was off limits. After several quiet moments, she turned to face him again.

"Things have been sort of okay. Maybe. Or not."

Jack raised his eyebrows at her ambiguous response. "Just what does that mean?" He asked softly, genuinely wanting to know.

Sam bit her lip, her eyes flitting everywhere but to his. Her nervousness was almost palpable between them and Jack immediately regretted asking her about any of this.

"I'm sorry, it's none of my business. Forget I asked," Jack said, giving Sam a way out of a situation that was becoming increasingly uncomfortable.

"Don't be sorry, sir. It's just that I haven't actually told the guys yet."

Jack looked at Sam quizzically, his mind whirling with the possibilities that sprang unbidden to mind. They actually set a date? Pre-wedding jitters? Avoiding the soon to be in-laws? Jack froze. She's pregnant? But before he could speculate further, Sam had drawn in a deep breath and plunged ahead.

"Pete and I broke up."

Jack's mouth popped open. That had been the furthest thing from his mind. He had thought they were happy together, engagement rings and talk of houses and all.

"What? When?" The questions popped out of his mouth before he could pull them back and Jack winced at his tact, or lack thereof.

Sam, however, smiled sadly, turning her attention back to the stars above. "I'm not sure I was all that surprised, really, after that whole thing with Osiris. I just couldn't get him to trust me. Trust that when I said it was classified it truly was classified, no matter what small amount of clearance he had been given to know about the program," Sam sighed slightly. "I really did think he could handle it, sir. Looks like I was wrong."

Jack nodded in sympathy, his own experiences with having to keep classified missions to himself something that had followed him through much of his adult life. "I really am sorry, Carter."

"It's alright, sir. Not the first time this sort of thing has happened to members of our command. Probably won't be the last time either."

"Yeah, but it's the first time it's happened to you. And that matters to me."

Sam turned wide, startled eyes to his face, gauging him. "Thank you, sir. I appreciate the sentiment. I'll be fine."

"Of course you will. But if you need anything, don't forget, Daniel's door is always open," Jack said, a mischievous smile creeping its way onto his face.

Sam's genuine smile reached all the way to her eyes and she ducked her head, chuckling softly. "I'll remember that, sir."

"Well, we should probably head back in before Daniel and Teal'c find the ice cream I brought and eat all of it before we get any."

"Can't have that, now can we, sir?"

"Hell no. It's my favorite too! Chunky Monkey."

Sam laughed lightly, feeling for the first time in the last couple of weeks as though things were finally getting back to normal.

SG1-SG1-SG1-SG1-SG1

Daniel knocked lightly on the doorway to Jack's office.

O'Neill looked up from his ever growing pile of administrative paperwork. "Daniel."

"You wanted to see me, Jack?"

"Yeah, come on in and close the door, will ya?"

Daniel closed the door softly behind him and sat down in one of the chairs just in front of Jack's desk. "So, what's up?"

Jack rearranged the memos on his desk a bit, then shifted in his seat to get more comfortable, but it didn't appear to be working. Daniel got the distinct impression that Jack was more than a little bit uncomfortable talking about whatever was on his mind, but was resolved to wait him out and let him bring the topic up in his own time.

Jack finally looked up, "So, how's things been going? On the team, I mean."

Daniel raised his eyebrows at the question. "Ah, fine, fine. Why? Something happen to give you the impression things weren't okay?"

"No, no. Not really. Just like to check up on things every now and then. Ya know, just to be sure."

"Oh, oh. I see. Well, no need to worry Jack, we're doing fine. We miss you out there of course, but we're doing good."

"How about Carter? She settling into command well?"

Ah, now I get it. Daniel realized. This isn't about the team, this is about Sam. "Great. She's doing great, Jack. She's been ready for this for a while, you know that."

"Has she been talking to you much lately? You know, about…stuff?" Jack again shifted in his seat, looking more uncomfortable by the moment.

Daniel's eyebrows again traveled nearly up to his hairline. "Yeah, we talk quite a lot. We are friends, ya know. Is there something in particular she was supposed to talk to me about?"

Now Jack knew he was on shaky ground. He honestly was worried about how the break up of her engagement was affecting Sam, personally rather than professionally since he had the utmost confidence in her abilities at work. But it was hardly his place to tell Daniel what had happened between Sam and Pete.

Daniel, being the perceptive person he was, picked up on the nature of Jack's discomfort and saved him from having to say something embarrassing. "This is about Pete, isn't it? Sam mentioned she told you Friday night."

Jack's relief was palpable. "Yeah. You think she's handling that whole….thing okay?"

Daniel smiled. "She'll be fine Jack. I got the feeling that she was never as confident in their relationship as Shanahan was. It almost seemed like it was a relief to her that it was over."

"Ah. Well, that's good. Good," Jack replied.

"So, things all smoothed out with Sam and Area 51?" Daniel inquired, his expression carefully schooled to be inquisitive but little more.

"Huh? Oh, yeah, that. Yeah. Everything's been taken care of. Paperwork's all been submitted. She officially reports to General Greene as of today."

"Well, that's good too. We'd hate to lose Sam from the SGC," Daniel replied, wondering if Jack had a clue at all where this conversation was going. Knowing that he likely didn't.

"Too damn true." Jack replied.

"So, she's going to report directly to General Greene?"

"Well, he will be writing her performance reports, but I'll still have some input on those. And day to day she'll get her direction from me and her superior officers in the SGC. But yeah, for all practical purposes she reports to…" Jack trailed off slightly, "Greene now."

Daniel watched as the realization dawned. Well now, that wasn't so hard after all. Good boy, Jack. The archaeologist smiled as he rose from his chair and turned toward the door. "Well, that's good to know, Jack. I was about to head down to the commissary, get some lunch. You coming with?"

Jack felt as though someone had set off a Jaffa stun grenade in his office. I'll be damned. He thought. What the hell do I do now?

"Come on Jack. We'll go have lunch and maybe after work we'll head over to Joe's, have a couple of beers and talk over old times. What'd'ya say?"

Jack rose from his chair, operating on autopilot. "Sure, Danny. That sounds great."

Daniel smiled again as he pulled open the door and stepped out into the entryway, feeling that for once, the universe finally seemed to be lining up in favor of two people who so richly deserved it.

TBC….