A/N: We made it! The final chapter

"Welcome back, SG-1," Hammond smiled at the four teammates standing just outside his door. Walter had informed him the Colonel and Major had arrived ten minutes ago, so he'd been expecting the team. "Come in, have a seat," he gestured to the chairs in front of his desk.

As was their normal MO, Colonel O'Neill and Major Carter sat while Daniel and Teal'c stood behind them. Well, Teal'c stood. Daniel lounged against a table.

"I trust you passed your physical?" Hammond asked her, already having the report from yesterday.

"Yes, sir," Sam smiled.

"With flying colors," Jack tacked on, giving her a quick smile that Hammond did not miss.

"Excellent," Hammond withdrew a form from his top drawer and pushed it across the desk to Sam. "Sign this and you are officially off of TDRL and back to active duty."

Sam paused, pen in hand. "If I may ask, sir," she waited for the General's nod, "has everything we discussed been put into place?"

"It has, Major," George confirmed. "I assumed you would not want to address any personal questions that might arise from an official announcement of your change in working title."

"That would be my preference, sir," she smiled tightly.

"Then consider the matter settled," George said. "Walter handled all the necessary paperwork personally."

"Thank you, sir," she said, signing the form and officially reinstating herself to full active duty.

"Your first mission is diplomatic in nature," Hammond said, placing the signed form into his outbox for Walter to process. "Briefing is at 1100 today and you leave tomorrow at 0600."

"SG-1 is ready, sir," Jack said, accepting the assignment for the team.

"Excellent," Hammond replied. "Dismissed." As his officers stood he waylaid them, "Colonel, Major."

Jack nodded to Daniel and Teal'c letting them know they'd meet up as planned in the commissary.

"Sir?" Sam asked with a quick glance to Jack.

"I assume you've informed the other half of SG-1 about your change in relationship status?"

"We have, sir," Sam answered, fighting back a blush at the memory of her godfather catching her and Jack in their underwear.

"Good, because you will need all the support you can get," he continued, despite their shared look of concern. "What you two are attempting to do, quite frankly, has never been done before. There's a reason husbands and wives do not serve on the same team. Now, you have my full support, but Jacob is the one who convinced the President that the SGC is different from every other branch of the military."

"What are you saying, sir?" Jack asked pointedly.

"I'm happy for you both," Hammond said, giving them a reassuring smile, "but I chose not to tell you this before because I didn't want, in any way, to affect your decision."

Sam and Jack shared a worried look.

"The President has decided to use the two of you as a test to see how this exception to the rule works at the SGC. He acknowledges that, due to the nature of our work, close personal relationships are likely to occur." He looked at them pointedly. "If you both can successfully navigate marriage and maintain a professional relationship, he's planning to extend this arrangement to other officers finding themselves in a similar situation."

"Wow," Sam said, suddenly feeling the weight of responsibility settling over them.

"So, what you're saying is no pressure then," Jack deadpanned, earning a chuckle from Hammond.

"What I'm saying is if you pull this off, it'll be like a shock wave rolling through the SGC," Hammond told them seriously. "But Jacob is right. If anyone can pull this off, it's the two of you."

"Thank you, sir," Jack said, glancing at Sam to gauge her reaction, "I think."

"I'll see you both back here in two hours for your mission brief. Dismissed."

"Wow," Daniel said, taking a bite of his bagel, "no pressure, I guess."

"That's exactly what I said," Jack slapped the table with his palm, drawing the attention of nearby SGC personnel.

Sam side-eyed him in a clear demand for him to keep it down. "General Hammond wouldn't have agreed to this if he didn't think we could do it," she reasoned.

"Well, you are his goddaughter," Daniel shrugged, drawing an incredulous look from his friends. "What?"

"We'll be fine," Jack told Sam. "We've served together for seven years while fighting our feelings. I think we can be just as effective knowing we get to go home together at the end of each mission."

"You're probably right, sir," she said, hiding her smile at the heated look Jack gave her when she used his honorific.

"Okay, that is gonna be a problem," Daniel snickered, pointing his bagel at them.

"What?" Jack asked warily.

"You look like you're about ready to cart Sam off to the nearest closet," he waggled his eyebrows, making Sam turn bright red.

"For the love of—Daniel," Jack glared at him. "Do you really think I'd tup Carter in a closet on base?" He whispered harshly.

"Well, no," Daniel looked semi-contrite, "I just said you looked like it. Besides, Sam wouldn't let you."

"No, I would not," Sam confirmed sharply, glaring at her teammate.

"See," Daniel grinned at them.

"You're enjoying this, aren't you, Daniel?" Sam guessed, shaking her head in utter surrender as Jack continued to glare at their friend.

Daniel continued grinning as he replied. "Immensely."

At 0600 the following morning Sam stood with the rest of SG-1 on the ramp in front of the freshly formed event horizon.

"Godspeed," Hammond's voice called over the loudspeaker, marking the official beginning of their mission.

The four team members began marching up the ramp. As if pre-planned, Teal'c adjusted his hold on his staff weapon and Daniel pushed up his glasses; both men slowing their steps to fall in behind the two military officers.

Just before stepping through, Sam paused, glancing over her shoulder to see she and Jack were suddenly isolated from any potential prying eyes, save for Walter or General Hammond who were still in the control room.

"You ready?" Jack winked at her, holding out his hand, palm up, just in front of their waists.

"As I'll ever be," Sam replied, covertly slipping her hand into his, their fingers intertwining.

Hand-in-hand they stepped through the Stargate.

Post Notes:

Thank you all for reading and commenting . This story has been a journey for sure. As you've probably noticed, I left a couple of minor plot threads dangling just in case I decide to come back and tug on them. I love this AU and I can't help but wonder how S/J are going to adjust to their new relationship dynamic while off-world. Right now, however, I've got a couple of works-in-progress that are demanding my attention. But I do have an idea for a short story about the "easy" diplomatic mission Hammond is sending them on lol.