AN: I'm making up for last night's really short chapter with tonight's long chapter. Enjoy!

Chapter Six

After a few minutes, Sam stopped staring after him. She seemed very lonely just then, but I'd been wrong that morning about her not having any friends and so I wasn't sure if my perceptions were spot on or completely inaccurate or a hodge-podge of the two. Sam's gaze slid slowly around the room. Daniel and Teal'c had gone back to feigning disinterest. I watched as Sam pulled the blanket back over her legs. She was still for only a minute before she stretched out on the couch. She went through an elaborate, quite Sam-like production of tucking her feet in just so before she rested her head on the throw pillow. And sure enough, a minute later, she was sitting back up, letting the blanket pool in her lap.

It seemed very much like Sam didn't know what to do with herself. I knew it had to do with the fact that Jack had left, but I wondered how much was because she didn't have to hide it and play the good soldier for the time being and how much was simply because of Jack's absence.

Sam's hands searched the discarded blanket and came up empty. She looked at the bare couch. Then she checked the coffee table and the floor in front of the couch. Before I could offer to help her find whatever she was looking for, her movements stilled. Her eyes had found her magazine, lying across the room where Jack had thrown it. She started to smile. In fact, I realized as she curled her knees up and rested her chin on them with a smile still on her lips that I was looking at a very contented Sam. Maybe she was so used to not being content that she didn't quite know how to behave.

I took the long way around the room, so as not to interrupt her staring and joined Daniel at the dining room table. He looked up and smiled. He seemed welcoming enough; I decided to take a chance. "So, what are you reading?"

He held up his magazine - some sort of scientific journal with archaeology in the title. "They've just found an ancient burial ground in Egypt with artifacts that date back further than they imagined. The carbon dating analysis places them thousands of years before the Egyptian dynasties and none of the researchers know what to make of it. They've decided the tests must have been inaccurate and they're sending them to another lab for analysis. And since the artifacts have hieroglyphics they've never seen before they've decided to pretend they're not there."

I stared blankly at him. He didn't look like a raving lunatic, but he was actually raving. Then I realized it was amusing that he was the exact same as young Sam had been with a different topic of conversation.

"They just can't accept that they're wrong and move on. They can't get past it. You know, I tried to tell them. I did. But no, everyone would rather think Dr. Jackson's crazy and the lab equipment must have been calibrated wrong than just deal with being wrong." He slapped the magazine closed and shook his head. "Whatever. I was right. I know I was right. Who cares, right?"

I wanted to point out that it was quite obvious that he cared, but I held my tongue.

Sam came to my rescue, walking over to the table and patting him on the shoulder. "We know, Danny."

Daniel looked up at Sam and smiled warmly. Then he winced. "I'm sorry, Sam. I was being inconsiderate."

She shook her head. "It's fine. I'm tired of people treating me like I'm going to break."

If there was one thing I knew about my sister, it was that she wasn't fragile. I smiled at her, pride and warmth filling me up. I'd missed her. I'd really, really missed her. "Do you have any pictures of dad?"

Sam nodded, leading me back to the couch. She retrieved a few albums from the shelves and sat down next to me to look over them. I recognized most of the pictures - she'd been the one to wind up with all of the family memorabilia, apparently. Looking through the pictures with her made me feel like we were kids again - Sam would gaze at the pictures of mom and dad's wedding and I would hover over the pictures of dad in uniform. Whatever I thought of him all my life, I knew what he'd done was important. Just like Sam.

Sam stopped on one of the pages - an eight by ten of mom in her wedding dress. "God, she was so beautiful."

Mom had been a young bride - not even twenty yet and Sam was right; she was stunning. But Sam had been young when mom died and most of what Sam remembered were moments out of photographs she'd stared at so long she thought she'd been there. I remembered more, namely the way mom had aged. She'd only been in her mid-thirties, which gave me a shiver when I realized I was older than she'd been when she died, but there'd been a lot of strain on her through the years - her alcoholic cousin who'd died in a car crash, the baby she'd lost a few years after Sam was born that only dad, and myself accidentally, knew about, the infernal bickering between her husband and son, and of course, the constant worry about her perpetually late, workaholic husband. She'd developed lines around her mouth and eyes and a tired, pale appearance in her last few years. I saw the same on Sam - the years of persistent stress that had aged her prematurely. But I also saw the same bright blue eyes that were forever ready to take on the world.

I smiled at Sam. "You look just like her."

Sam shook her head, refuting my compliment. "No, not at all."

I grinned. "Daniel, Teal'c, come here. Tell Sam she looks like mom."

The guys answered my call immediately and I could have sworn they had been waiting for the invitation. Teal'c sat down beside me, studying the photo of my mother closely. "Mark Carter is correct. You strongly resemble this woman."

Score one for the big guy.

Daniel perched himself on the armrest to look. I wondered why he hadn't simply squeezed in like earlier that day, but I assumed it was something between the four of them. He grinned too. "Wow, Sam, you do look like her."

Sam pointed at mom's face, smiling at the photographer like the happiest woman in the world and I wondered if that look, that utter happiness, was what Sam was getting stuck on. "No. You're all nuts. She was absolutely gorgeous."

"Yeah, so?" Daniel laughed, his disbelief that Sam didn't think she was beautiful evident in his voice.

Red faced, Sam turned away from him, only to find that Teal'c was staring past me at her. "What, you too?"

A nod from Teal'c and an almost smile accompanied his words. "Perhaps we should discuss it further when O'Neill returns."

Even redder, Sam turned back to the album and angrily flipped the page. More of their wedding pictures greeted us, including one of mom and dad together. He was standing behind her, his arms securely around her; they were both smiling harder than I'd ever seen.

Sam went to turn the page, but Daniel's hand reached out to stop her. "He was a few years older than her, wasn't he?"

I looked up at him, knowing my still indignant sister wasn't going to answer him. "He was almost ten years older than her."

I saw Daniel's smirk and somehow, I knew to turn to Teal'c, if only to catch the raised eyebrow. Confused for a moment, I watched Daniel elbow Sam in the side. "An older, decorated Air Force officer. I'm sensing a pattern here."

I wanted to laugh at his comment, especially at the way Sam covered her face with her hands, but the levity was mixed with regret. I should have been the one teasing her good-naturedly. I should have known about her crush on her CO. Instead, in my place stood Daniel, teasing her like a brother would. After a moment, Sam reached over and slugged him in the shoulder and I winced in pain, memory dredging up just how hard she could hit when she was embarrassed.

I nudged her, protectiveness rising up and wanting to shield her from being tortured, but then when she looked at me, my big brother instinct to torture her myself rose up and I couldn't resist. "Don't worry, Sam, we won't tell Jack." She just squared her shoulders and started paging through the albums again.

Stephanie joined us a little while later, still yawning from her nap, with the kids in tow. They immediately remembered their game with Teal'c and ran up to him, shouting 'Mr. T." Sam and I cracked up, leaving Steph, Daniel and Teal'c staring at us.

Embarrassed by the attention, I looked around. "Didn't anybody watch The A-Team?"

Sam giggled. "I pity the fool who didn't watch The A Team!"

No one seemed to know what we were talking about, but we continued to laugh. I tried to imagine Teal'c weighed down by all those gold chains and it only made me laugh harder. Visualizing the mohawk didn't help.

Teal'c stood up when Nicky politely asked him to play hide and seek with them and Stephanie took his seat, cuddling into my side. "Oh, pictures!"

Out of the corner of my eye, I watched Matt tell Teal'c that he was 'it.' Stephanie and I shared a look when Teal'c announced that he didn't know how to play. Nicky explained the rules, all in all doing a fairly awful job of conveying the idea to the perplexed man before her. Finally Teal'c nodded and covered his eyes while the kids ran off to hide. As Teal'c began counting, Sam pushed the album closer to me so that Steph could see as well.

We'd gotten as far as Sam's high school graduation before we realized that Teal'c was still counting. I looked up at Daniel. "Should we stop him?"

Daniel and Sam glanced at each other and both of them shook their heads. Sam shrugged at Steph. "He didn't really play a lot when he was a kid so he doesn't exactly understand the point of games. It's probably more fun for them if he stays out of it."

"Sam, are you hungry?" Daniel's words came only a moment before his stomach growled loudly.

She shook her head again. "We should probably get something. No one's eaten a decent meal all day."

I chuckled at the idea that all those cakes and pies and cookies hadn't quite been enough. "We should get something for the kids, at least."

Just as I spoke, the front door opened, revealing Jack who'd changed into street clothes. In his arms were ten pizza boxes. "Can I get some help here?"

Sam and Daniel jumped up at his words, but Teal'c remained where he was, counting with his eyes closed. They dropped the pizzas on the coffee table. I sighed, knowing Stephanie was going to object to feeding the kids pizza. Before either of us could mention it, Jack dropped two kid's meal boxes on top of the pile.

"Chicken, applesauce, and whole milk." He smiled, as though he were quite proud of himself. And then I remembered his icing on his pie and decided he had every right to be proud. I watched as he looked around, his eyes falling and Sam, Daniel, and finally Teal'c, as though taking an inventory to assure himself that everyone was unharmed. His moment of peace in finding them all perfectly fine was fleeting. He sat down on the floor, alarmingly, for my tastes anyway, close to Sam's legs. He looked up at Sam, who had a tiny smile playing on her lips. "Carter?"

Her smile widened the slightest bit. "Yes, sir?"

I bit back a comment about the switch back to formality, but I didn't even pretend that I wasn't watching them.

"What's Teal'c doing?"

Sam looked over at him, her thoughtful expression making it look as though she had no idea. "He's counting, sir."

"Ah, is that what that is? I was never very good at math."

Sam giggled, reminding me of too many times she'd giggled at boys like that and my father's inevitable lectures that boys would only distract her from more important pursuits. I thought about lecturing her, as I'd always taken my dad's place when he wasn't available, but I liked seeing her, if not happy, at least genuinely amused.

Daniel sat on the floor on the other side of the coffee table, the only one bothering with a plate when he took a piece of pizza. "Don't encourage him, Sam."

I expected a giggle, or a denial. Instead, I saw her eyes dart toward Jack and I could have sworn he cracked a smile for a second. I shook my head and decided I had imagined it, since Steph and the kids were gathered around the room as well and Teal'c was still sitting with his eyes closed, rattling off numbers as we began to eat.

"One thousand seven hundred and ninety two. One thousand seven hundred and ninety three…"

"Teal'c, you can stop now and open your eyes." Sam's gentle assurance was answered with Teal'c's immediate stare. She grinned. "Do you see the kids?"

He turned his face down, locating the children who were sitting between himself and Stephanie. "I do, Colonel Carter."

"There you go, Teal'c." Sam stuffed the pizza in her mouth, offering no further explanation.

Jack was still waiting, not eating his pizza until he knew what was going on. "Why were you counting, T?"

"I was playing a game called Hide and Seek with the offspring of Mark Carter." He glanced at the kids who gave no indication that they knew what he was talking about as they ate their dinners. "Colonel Carter, how is this game resolved?"

She smiled at him. "You found them. Or maybe they conceded. Whatever. You won."

Teal'c beamed with pride, as no man should for beating children at a game he hadn't played. He turned back to Jack. "I am it."

Jack grinned. "That you are, Teal'c. That you are." Then he took a bite of his pizza and shifted slightly, until his side came in contact with Sam's legs.

Sam's pizza paused for a moment on its way to her mouth, but only for a second before she smiled and resumed like nothing had changed.

Jack polished off his slice in what had to be record time. He glanced at me as he reached for his second piece, opting to pull an entire box onto his lap. "So, Mark, what was Sam like when she was a kid?"

And once again, Teal'c and Daniel's heads turned suddenly toward Jack. It was only when I saw it that I realized he'd called her Sam. And I just knew that was something he never, ever did.