AN: Looks like only one more chapter after this.Thanks for all the reviews! Please keep them coming!

Chapter Ten

Sam hesitated long enough for me to answer for her. "Just talking about some friends of mine."

Daniel didn't look convinced, although I was beginning to suspect that he always looked like that. He simply insinuated himself next to Sam and reached out to snag the pictures off the coffee table. He thumbed through them quietly before returning to the top one - the one of Sam and Jack. He spent a long time conspicuously analyzing the dog-eared edges while Sam's face burned red. Finally he looked at her. "These are from a few years ago, aren't they?"

Sam only shrugged in response. I hadn't been quite sure of how recent they were, but I was willing to bet Daniel knew exactly when they were taken.

"This one -" He held it close to her face to point out the obvious. "Is the most recent, and yet, it seems so worn."

Sam snatched them out of his hands. "Leave it, Daniel." Her voice left no room for argument. It was the same voice that had always sent me scampering out of the room for fear of facing Sam's wrath.

But it appeared that Daniel hadn't gotten the memo, or maybe that was just part of his clueless act - since he was obviously smart enough to have a PhD. "Where did you get them?"

I was surprised Sam chose to respond, but she did so with a sigh that indicated she knew Daniel would have eventually won anyway and she was saving her herself trouble in the long run. "The general gave them to me yesterday, if you must know."

"Oh, I must." He was pleased with her answer, smiling to himself as though he'd suspected Jack had been the one to render the photo into its well-loved condition. He grinned at me. "So these friends of yours - are they named Jack and Sam?"

I smiled back, deciding to borrow a page from my dad and sister's play book. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"You're as bad a liar as Sam is." Daniel looked disappointed that I hadn't revealed all.

"Maybe so, but my loyalty is to Sam. You'd probably have better luck giving her the guilt trip." Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed that Stephanie and Teal'c had returned. Teal'c was watching us curiously, but Steph was leaning against the wall yawning. "With that said, Sam, I'm going to abandon you to Daniel's questions. Steph and I are going to go to bed."

Sam nodded. "He won't get anything out of me. Night, Mark, thanks for staying. Night, Steph."

It was weird to actually have several people saying good night to me - usually Steph and the kids were in bed long before me. The only thing that saw me fall asleep was the TV. It was yet another difference between our lives - I imagined Sam was used to having all sorts of people around her and a flurry of activity going on. My life suddenly seemed painfully slow and tedious, but then, I was glad to sit at home and have a relaxing night with my family while Sam was more apt to having some sort of crisis. I wasn't sure it was something I really envied after all.

As Stephanie and I settled into bed, she spoke. "So you guys had a nice talk?"

"Yeah, we did. It's been a long time, but - I don't know - it's-" I wasn't sure what I was trying to say.

"But she's your sister. I know. I have one of them, remember? I'm glad things are ok."

I rolled over to face her, a smug grin on my face. "So."

She narrowed her eyes at me. "What?"

My grin broke into a huge smile that Stephanie unconsciously mirrored. It made me stop for a minute, oddly reminding me of Sam and Jack. "So I've got some news."

Her eyes went wide; Stephanie could live on a diet of gossip alone. "What?"

"You have to keep it quiet. That's what you walked in on - no one but me knows."

"Ooh, that's the good stuff. Spill."

"Jack."

"What about Jack?" She stopped for a second. "Please don't tell me he's gay."

I laughed. I knew I was making her crazy, but I couldn't resist dragging it out. "By the way, you already told me I was right about them, but I just want you to know that I was even more right about them than you think."

"So they are actually a couple?" She let out a breath.

"More than that." I tried to make myself stop smiling like an idiot to give my revelation some sort of dramatic effect. "As of last night, they are a couple. And as of last night, they're also engaged."

Stephanie actually squealed. "Really?"

"Sort of. It's not official yet, but he said he wanted to marry her and she told him what kind of ring she wanted."

Stephanie grinned. "That sounds like your sister."

There was a knock at the door, followed by the door slowly opening and Teal'c's face leaning in. "Is everyone well?"

Stephanie giggled. "Oh, yeah, Teal'c, we're good."

"There was a cry. Are you sure you are uninjured?"

"We're fine." I smiled at him, unable to quit while I was ahead. "I just told Stephanie about Sam's news and Stephanie is very excited for her."

"Has something exciting happened to Colonel Carter?"

I tried to look innocent as I dispatched another of Sam's friends to torment her. "Why don't you go ask her?"

He bowed politely. "I shall."

I turned back to Stephanie as he closed the door. "You know, I didn't realize it this morning, but I think she's really happy."

She nodded and snuggled into my arms. "She has good friends and a great career and the love of her life. I'd say she's a pretty lucky girl."

"Are you talking about Sam or yourself?" But Stephanie didn't reply because she was already asleep.

I dozed off for a few hours. When I awoke, Stephanie was still sleeping. I decided to check on the kids to make sure they were ok in the strange house. Matt was sleeping soundly, snoring happily. Nicky was awake, amusing herself by trying on Sam's meager collection of jewelry. Of course, I was fairly certain that the few pieces she did own had been the expensive ones that once belonged to mom, so I put Nicky back in bed. As I headed back to the guest bedroom, I noticed light coming from the den. Sam had mentioned that she might sleep on the pull-out in there if she got tired and I was willing to bet that Sam was there, sound asleep with her nose in a book or her laptop.

I walked into the den with every intention of taking away the book and turning out the light. Which, in hindsight, I probably could have still done. Except that it wasn't Sam sprawled across the bed with a book and notes and six different dictionaries. It was Daniel. He was sound asleep, lying in such a way that his glasses would probably never sit straight again, but I realized that was probably why they'd been slightly crooked all day.

But really, Daniel wasn't the most alarming thing. It was Teal'c. He was sitting cross-legged on the floor right next to the door. His eyes were closed and I could only assume that he was meditating once again. The light source that I'd originally attributed to the TV was actually a collection of about a million candles. They covered every available surface and several surfaces, like the arm of the couch, that I personally would not have considered an available surface for displaying candles. I wasn't sure that a room full of burning candles was the best place for Daniel's array of paper, but I took a deep breath, reminded myself that it was not my house and that they were not my friends, and closed the door carefully behind me so as to help contain any fire that might start, at least long enough to save my children.

I wasn't snooping. I wasn't. But Sam had asked me to stay on the grounds that her friends were leaving, so I was just going to check on her since their presence was a little unexpected. I told myself that she could have gotten upset after I went to bed and I cursed myself for sending Teal'c out to question her when she'd asked me to keep her secret. Really, I was just being a protective older brother looking to apologize to my sister.

I stepped into the living room. The silent TV proudly displayed The Simpsons, the mute button making most of their antics lose their humor. Sam was sound asleep on the couch, which wasn't surprising as she'd never been a big fan of the television, unless it was to keep her company. The room had been tidied - the pizza boxes were gone, the photo albums put away. It wasn't out of the ordinary that Sam had straightened up. It wasn't strange that she'd fallen asleep, despite her protestations that she wasn't tired, after the sort of day she'd had.

Perhaps the only thing at all surprising about the scene at all was that Sam, sleeping comfortably with a smile on her lips, was wrapped tightly in the arms of Jack, who was also sleeping with a contented smirk on his face.

So I turned around and went back to bed myself, only realizing as I fell asleep that I was smiling too.