I'm finally done! This chapter takes place about six years after the last chapter.

And when she wraps her hand
Around my finger
Oh, it puts a smile in my heart,
Everything becomes a little clearer;
I realize what life is all about.

Retired Brigadier General Jonathan "Jack" O'Neill sat at his kitchen table at three o'clock in the morning, staring at an empty piece of paper in front of him. Jackie was graduating from high school today. Her administrators had suggested that the parents write letters to their graduating children.

He had complained to Samantha afterwards. "Sam, I'm not good with words."

She shook her head. "Yes you are, Jack. I've seen your poetry and your journals."

He had turned to her. "Don't tell anyone! It might ruin my image!" He had whispered.

"Oh, and just who would I tell?" She asked, chuckling.

"Teal'c, Daniel and Janet?"

"Oh, they already know."

Now, he was staring at a blank piece of paper. Images kept flashing through his mind, but there were no words good enough to describe how he felt.

Dear Jackie,

A little toddler, reciting the alphabet, came into his mind. He saw the little two-year-old with blond curls in a swing, pushed by her doting grandfather. He could feel her fingers clasp his finger in nervous excitement as he escorted her to her first day of school. He saw many other scenes from her childhood flash before his mind.

How do I tell you how much I love you? How proud I am to be your father? How blessed I was to have you as my daughter?

He chewed the end of the pen in concentration. Suddenly, he heard footsteps on the linoleum. He felt Sam's arms reach across his chest. "Whatcha doing?" She asked, her lips brushing his ear.

"Trying to write this stupid letter."

She kissed his cheek as she sat down. "It's not stupid, Jack. Let me read it."

She read it and smiled. "I think you're supposed to add some fatherly advice..."

"I was getting there, Sam."

She chuckled. "What were you going to say?"

"I don't know."

"Yeah, well, you can write it tomorrow. Jackie's going to graduation with some friends."

He sighed. "I can't sleep." He admitted.

"She's not a little girl anymore." Sam said, translating.

"Yeah, well, she's still my little girl..."

It's hanging on when your heart has had enough
It's giving more when you feel like giving up
I've seen the light
It's in my daughter's eyes.

Sam left after kissing the top of Jack's head. "Good luck!" She whispered.

He stared at the paper again.

Your mom says I'm supposed to put some fatherly advice in here, and you know what'll happen if I defy orders...Jackie, if there's one thing I've learned through all these years (Don't start young lady!), it's to listen to your heart. It will never steer you wrong. And no matter what, your mother and I will support you. (Don't you dare roll your eyes and say "Here he goes again..."!) I'm serious, Jackie. I know you've talked to your mom about her experiences with the Stargate Program, and if that's the route you think you should go, then you have my blessing.

Just don't get hurt...physically, mentally, emotionally. Keep talking, even when it hurts. Life is more meaning ful when you let other people into your life. Please don't shut anyone out of your life, no matter how hard it gets.

He closed the letter. Then, he sighed. He was amazed at how quickly she had grown. He was also terrified about how interested she had become in the Air Force. particularly the Stargate Program. He sighed again, it was time to take his own advice. He would cross that bridge when he got to it.

Later that day, after Jackie had crossed the stage and received her diploma, she held two letters in her hands, her heart pounding in anxious anticipation about the contents of the letters. She looked into the stands and found her parents, siblings, and grandfather. Her gaze lingered on her father for a second longer. It was his letter that made her the most anxious.

She couldn't see him very clearly, but she knew he was proud of her. There was something about the Ancient gene that helped them sense the other's thoughts and emotions, forming a very deep bond between them. It had helped them both out of sticky situations, even saving her father's life.

She finally opened the letter and she was truly touched. She looked at her father again, and he was staring at a piece of paper. She knew what it was even though she was not sitting next to him. It was the one line that she had been able to pen to him: I will always be proud to be the daughter of Jack O'Neill.

Tears ran down Jack's cheeks. He had known that she was proud of her status as his daughter, but somehow he had connected it to his title. She had not added the title to his name, signifying her pride at simply being his daughter, not "the general's" daughter.

Sam leaned closer to him. "Are you okay?"

Jack nodded and handed her the note. Tears shined in her eyes as she handed the note back to him. "She's an amazing girl."

"Woman, Carter, woman."

READ AND REVIEW!