A/N: I don't thinkI have ever struggled to write a chapter as I have for this one. And as a result it has taken me quite a bit towrite and to feel good about the story line and the dialogue. Thanks for hanging in there!

Also thanks to SG1-Fanfic who as been a wonderful betaon this story (the last half of this is unbetaed b/c I just wanted to get this out to you guys so any errors are mine!)

The walk back to Sam's house was done in silence. Each one absorbed in their own thoughts and oblivious to the park teeming with families and happy couples around them.

As they walked, Sam fell into step between her father and her CO. And though her face didn't show it, she was happy. Because for the first time in a long time, she had hope. She didn't know how, but she had the two men she cared for most in the world at her side. They had served the Earth, their allies and each other countless times from impending doom. This mission was no different, except that it was a mission to save their hearts and preserve a future Jack and she had both longed for.

When they walked into Sam's house they all headed to the kitchen to get a drink.

As he waited for his drink he debated whether or not to ask Jacob a question. He'd been thinking about everything that had happened in the past fifteen minutes. There was still one thing that didn't make sense in his mind.

"Sir?"

Jacob looked up, caught off guard by Jack's formality. He looked at his daughter and quirked an eyebrow, Sam shrugged back at him, she was just as confused as he was.

"Jack?"

Jack razed his hand through his hair as he pondered how to word his question. His mouth continued to open and close as he almost asked his question at least ten times.

"I'm not getting any younger here Jack," Jacob reminded him.

Jack looked up with a worried look.

Sam sensed his intense discomfort and decided to interject some humor into the situation, "Dad, with Selmak, you aren't exactly aging either!"

It worked like a charm as Jack let a half smile appear on his face.

When Jacob spoke, it was as a father to a son, "What is it Jack?"

Jack looked to Sam and gained the strength he needed. "Sir, why are you helping us? You're an Air Force General."

Jacob stared at the man intently. "First of all, I'm retired. Second of all, my helping you is done out of my capacity as Sam's father, so drop the sir. And thirdly…" He looked between Sam and Jack. "… I know what real love is."

Jack and Sam quickly looked at each other with a scared look.

"Uh… ah… we…"

Sam looked back to her father, "Yeah… uh…"

Jacob shook his head and looked at them expectantly. "What?"

Sam looked back to Jack, "Yeah… we… uh…"

Jack nodded his head, "Yeah! We haven't really…" Jacob raised an eyebrow at him. "You know…"

Jacob stared at them and waited for them to actually finish a sentence. His eyes widened with disbelief as he realized the source of their discomfort. "You're kidding?"

"Well…" Sam began.

"Yeah Jacob," Jack picked up the conversation, "we just…"

Jacob looked between them with an expression of deep sadness. "My God… What has this done to you?"

They stared back at him blankly.

"Are you both too blind to see what you really have or have you just denied what you feel for each other for too long?"

"Dad…?"

Jack looked at Sam, "Carter… You know I care about you… but…"

Sam nodded eagerly, "Exactly sir!"

"Stop!" Jacob ordered them as they turned to him. Once he had their attention he turned and paced in the small area of the breakfast area. The look of sadness was apparent on his face again when he turned back to them. "Love isn't expressed in words… It's in the things you do…"

Jacob headed into the living room and sat down in one of the armchairs.

Jack and Sam tentatively followed him and sat down on opposite ends of the couch.

"Love isn't a word… It's a state of heart and soul… It's what you both share for each other…"

"Dad, we never-"

"I know," he assured them. "It's in the way you look at one another, the way you smile at each other… Love is working endlessly for over three months so that he won't have to wait that long…" Jacob pointed at Jack. "Love is agreeing to be host to a Tok'ra because she asked you too…" he turned his finger to his daughter. "Love is wanting the other one to live and you willing to sacrifice yourself because you can't bear the thought of going on living without them… I know what that's like. I had that kind of love. But love is also knowing that I wouldn't want to waste a single moment of time I could spend with your mother Sam… That's love." Jacob looked at them with only concern and love. "And I know that's that what you feel for each other."

They continued to listen in silence as they processed his words. 'Is he right?' they both wondered.

Jacob waited momentarily before continuing, "Love is the respect you have for one another because neither of you wanted to risk the other's career…" Jacob looked down and studied his hands as he sought the words to prove his point and bring these two people together. "Just ask yourselves this: If the world ended tomorrow, would you have any regrets?"

Sam closed her eyes as she answered the question in her mind. She remembered the hallucination aboard the Prometheus, her father didn't have any regrets. She was so engrossed in her own thoughts that she didn't notice Jack scoot closer to her.

He reached his hand out and grabbed her attention by placing his hand on hers. "Sam…?"

She desperately looked up at him.

And in that look Jack realized that Jacob was right. He did love the woman before him, and she felt the same towards him. "Marry me."

It wasn't a plea or a question, merely a statement of how things should be. A sentiment she agreed with, "Yes."

Slow wide smiles appeared on their faces as they continued to gaze into each other's eyes. Jacob happily watched in silence as they finally whispered their affection to one another, "I love you."

Jacob quietly stood up as he allowed his daughter and fiancé a moment alone. He headed into the kitchen and picked up the phone and dialed a familiar number.

Several minutes later, Sam and Jack walked into the kitchen in search of Jacob. "Dad?"

"Out here!" he called out through the patio door.

The couple stepped out onto the patio hand in hand.

Watching them walk out holding hands and with pleased looks on their faces made Jacob himself smile.

"So, uh, Jacob… Any suggestions on how we proceed?"

Jacob arose from the chair he was relaxing in. "Yes… We have to move fast though…"

"Why?" Sam asked as she looked between her father and fiancé.

"Because we can't give them any time to deal with this… First, let me ask you a question. When do you want to get married?"

They stared at each other, "With the regulations in place, I don't know. But if I could, I'd marry her tonight."

Jacob beamed, "Excellent! But, will tomorrow do?"

They stared at him wide-eyed. "What?"

"Tomorrow… You guys don't have anything against Vegas do you?"

"Are you serious?" Jack asked.

"Completely," he nodded his head. "We need to make them an offer they can't refuse."

Sam looked at Jack a little concerned before turning back to her father. "Do we have an offer like that?"

"You both write letters of resignation," he began. He quickly raised his hands up to stop them from interrupting him for suggesting something so preposterous. "I didn't say you were going to resign! You write the letters, we take them over to George and give them to him. Now neither of you have actually fraternized, just talked and made a promise to one another. We tell him that you're going to resign so that you can be together. The Air Force can either let the two of you go or let you get married. My guess is that they won't willingly let you go."

"And if they don't believe us about not fraternizing?" Sam asked, playing devil's advocate.

"They'll threaten to arrest you."

"Doesn't exactly go to well with our plan of being together for the rest of our lives," Jack pointed out sarcastically. He wasn't seeing how they could win in this situation.

Jacob smirked, "No… But, like I told Sam, either the Tok'ra or Asgard will come bail you out and you can live anywhere in the galaxy."

"Are you serious?" Jack asked.

Jacob looked at him seriously, "Jack, the two of you are important parts of the fight against the Goa'uld. Whether you do it with the Tok'ra or from here on Earth, you two are still highly effective. Earth would rather have you on their side."

There was a moment's silence as everyone considered Jacob's plan and weighed the merits and considered the outcomes.

"You sure this is going to work?" Jack finally asked his co-conspirators.

"No," Jacob finally told him.

An answer that did nothing to comfort and reassure Jack.

Sam leaned closer to Jack and grabbed hold of his hand. Once she had his attention she looked deeply into his eyes. "Jack, I'd rather take this risk and be together than continue to work side by side without being together and risk losing you." She paused, "We need this," she implored him.

He studied her features and agreed with her assessment. "They do owe us something, don't they?"

The corners of her mouth turned up at his response, they were indeed owed something.

ooo

"You sure about this?" Jacob asked as they pulled up in front of George's house.

Jack and Sam looked at each other. "Not totally… But we do have a back up plan."

"Right. Plan B… I always like having a Plan B!"

Sam smirked as they got down from Jack's truck.

"Jacob! I'm-" George stopped when he saw the two members of SG-1 standing on his doorstep as well. "Colonel, Major."

"Sir," they replied in unison.

Everyone remained silent for a moment, no one making a move. Until Jacob spoke, "Mind if we come in?"

George smiled as he moved away from the door, "Of course, come in."

"Thanks," Sam nodded as she stepped past him.

"Of course… Can I get you anything to drink?"

"No thank you, sir."

"We're good thanks," Jacob told him as they headed to his living room and situated themselves in front of the couch.

As George followed them into the living room, he thought it strange that they were all poised to sit on the couch. He waved his arm, "Sit down, sit down." Though his face remained impassive, he did notice that Jack and Sam were sitting a little close together, nothing to write home about, but he noticed it.

"George," Jacob began in all seriousness.

"Jacob..?"

Jacob looked at his daughter and her CO. They both nodded reaffirming their commitment to this mission. Jacob reached his hand under his jacket and extracted two envelopes and placed them on the coffee table and pushed them towards his old friend.

"What are these?" Hammond asked as he leaned forward to get a hold on the envelopes.

There was a pause as Hammond leaned back and began to open one of the envelopes.

"Our letters of resignation, sir," Jack finally revealed.

George's head snapped up. "What!" He then proceeded to tear into the envelopes and look at the contents in person.

No one said anything as they let General Hammond finish reading both letters. "What's the meaning of this?"

Jack took a deep breath before beginning, "Sir. Carter and I have come to a decision. We talked this afternoon and decided that we want to get married… Sooner rather than later," he added as an afterthought.

To say Hammond was upset, was an understatement. "You've both been carrying on an illegal affair under my command? I thought-"

"Sir! We've never done anything, we-" Sam began.

"Just got engaged! Do you guys realize what sort of position this puts me in?"

"Sir, we haven't done anything. We just decided that we don't want to wait any more before having a relationship."

"George," Jacob called out trying to be the voice of reason.

George turned to his old friend, "You're condoning this?"

Jacob stood up and walked over to his friend, "Come on George."

"What? No. I'm not done wi-"

"George! You need to calm down and listen to what I have to say."

George glared at his former colleague before finally following him out of the living room.

Jack turned to Sam, "Well… That went well…"

ooo

"How can you support their decision, Jacob?" George asked when they were outside.

"Because they love one another George. And you know it! They've worked under that mountain and across the galaxy for seven years," his arm was pointed in the general direction of the base. "They have done what was needed of them, they've saved Earth and her allies countless times… And never – not once – asked for anything in return! They never broke the rules George and you know it! They love the Air Force too much and respect one another too much to put the other one's career at stake… They've opened up their eyes for the first time today and looked at what was in their hearts… And do you know what they saw?" Jacob paused for emphasis. "Love, George… Honest to goodness Love… And they didn't even realize it… That's how much they have given of themselves, they don't recognize what love is anymore… George they need this," he ended quietly.

"And the regulations?"

"Aren't serving their purpose anymore, not in this case. It's their feelings for one another that keeps bringing them back alive. Keeps them from letting Earth be annihilated… Can you honestly tell me that you've never suspected something deeper between the two of them?"

Hammond shook his head no.

"Has it ever stopped them from doing their duty?"

Hammond stared at him. "Not until now."

Jacob shook his head. "George, they both want to keep working at the SGC. They know what's at stake here… But they also know that they have to have something to fight for as well… They can't keep fighting for a distant future when one of them retires… Worse yet, they don't want to risk losing the other…"

"And what am I supposed to do? Accept their letters of resignation and let them both walk away from the SGC?"

"They'd rather you fought."

George looked at his old friend questioningly. "Fight for them?"

"Yes. They've written their letters of resignation and are ready to leave the SGC, they want to stay on, but if need be, I know of some allies who would gladly let them continue to fight against the Goa'uld from another planet… They're getting married tomorrow, with or without the Air Force's blessing. Now the Air Force and this country can either let two of their best people leave, or they can rework the rules to allow Sam and Jack to be together and continue to work at the SGC. It's their call."

Hammond turned and walked around his deck. "There are people who would love nothing more than to bring them up on fraternization charges for this," he warned.

Jacob shrugged, "Let them… They'd never be tried here. Thor wouldn't let them be imprisoned or not be a part of the fight against the Goa'uld… Either they stay here on Earth, married, and continue to work at the SGC, or they get married and come live with me off-world."

"You're serious about that?"

Jacob nodded his head, "Absolutely."

George took a deep breath as he considered his options.

"How much time do I have?"

"You have until noon tomorrow. We're leaving for Las Vegas in two hours, we're driving."

They walked back into his living room and found both Jack nervously pacing the room while Sam tried to calm him down.

George held up the two letters, "Are you both serious about this?"

Without a moment's hesitation, they both affirmed their resolve. "Yes sir."

"They'll try and bring you both up on charges."

They both nodded, they understood the risks.

"And if you leave with Jacob, you may never be able to set foot on this country again, let alone work at the SGC… You're both ready to face the consequences?"

Jack spoke, "Sir, there are some things worth fighting for."

Hammond looked between both of them, "And this is one of them?"

"Yes sir," Jack calmly replied.

Sam looked up and spoke gently to the man she highly respected, "Would you have fought for one more day with your wife?"

Hammond's facial features visibly softened. At that moment he realized just how much these two amazing individuals – heroes – had given up already for their country and planet. "I'm going to do everything in my power to help you both. I'm going to accept these, in case they don't change the rules, but they'd be idiots to let the two of you go… I hope this works out for you."

Jack and Sam sighed in relief, "Thank you, sir!" They both approached him to give him their gratitude.

He shook Jack's hand and brought Sam in for a hug. He whispered to her, "There's isn't anything I wouldn't give for another chance."

Sam nodded as she pulled away.

Jack spoke up cheerily, "Sir, if you're in the area tomorrow, we'll be getting married at the Bellagio."

George nodded as he escorted them out of his house, "I'll keep that in mind… But there's something I need to take care of first," he told them as he held up their resignation letters again.

They all climbed into Jack's car and sat there motionless for a moment.

"This is really going to happen isn't it?" Sam asked as she looked over at her fiancé.

He sent her a goofy smile, "Yeah!" He then started the truck and began to pull away.

"We're going to need another witness," Jacob said at the first stop sign.

They all looked at each other.

Simultaneously, all three pulled out their cell phones and began dialing. Somehow, as if a pre-meditated plan was being enacted, they each called a different party and told them to get ready.

Jacob called Teal'c and told him that they would be there to pick him up in twenty minutes.

Jack called Daniel and told him to not ask any questions just yet, but to pack up some clothes for a couple of days and meet them at Janet's house in forty-five minutes.

And Sam called Janet and told her and Cassie that they would be there in forty-five minutes.

TBC

There's one more chapter - I think... I haven't started writing it so I don't know when it'll be done.