It was odd, today. I needed to talk to Jack about something, what it was I don't remember, but the state I found him in was somewhat... odd. For the first time in six months, he was smiling. Colonel Jack O'Neill, USAF, was smiling. Not just that reminiscing of some memory smile, but a genuine smile of true happiness.

The funniest part was, I found him sitting in his office, listening to, of all things, country music. For all the years I've known him, I've never found one CD in his house other than classic rock or classical. I've only heard him listen to Beethoven or Back, Mozart or Chicovsky, but he always claimed country was for wusses. Well, most country anyway. He had a few songs I knew he liked, mostly anything that had to do with the military. He liked those military ballads.

No, the music he was listening to wafted through the room, setting a soft tone in the air. Jack was leaned back in his chair, eyes closed, smile plastered across his face. I didn't really want to interrupt him in any way, but I had been sent by General Hammond. I still couldn't remember why I had been sent down here, it must have been important.

ol Got a picture of you
I carry in my heart
close my eyes to see you and the world gets dark ol

I know Jack thinks of her all the time, I would say most likely constantly everyday. He can still see her face everywhere on base. He's told me this, but only after about a case of beer. He doesn't open up very well, except to Hailey. I think it's because she reminds him so much of Sam. Since she disappeared, Jack brought one of the many team photos of us he had framed in his house in and set it on his desk. I caught him multiple times just sitting and staring at it, usually with a blank look on his face.

ol Got a memory of you
I carry in my soul
I wrap it close around me when the nights get cold ol

He has a hard time sleeping anymore. He misses her being there with him. I know they only had that one chance, but he feels so empty. He pulls the scratchy wool blanket up to his chin when we sleep off world. He actually tries to sleep now, too. He used to stay up all night, watching Sam sleep, then go and stay up for his entire watch. Now he just lays there, always attentive.

ol If you ask me how I'm doin' I'd say just fine
but the truth is baby if you could read my mind
not a day goes by
that I don't think if you
after all this time
you're still with me it's true
somehow you remain
locked so deep inside
baby baby oh baby
not a day goes by ol

I wonder how he found this. It seems to be everything he is at this time, so perfect to describe his feelings. He's such a wreck right now, but he won't admit it, not without a lot of booze. Hammond sees it, won't do anything, but he sees it. He knows that if he tried to impose on Jack, the man would just shut down and cease to be the effective officer everyone on the base looks up to.

"Jack?" I slowly approached him from behind, laying my hand gently on his shoulder. He let out a soft, surprisingly content sigh. "You okay?"

"Yeah, actually, I think so. For the first time in six months." He leaned forward, staring at the computer. For the first time I noticed the slight glistening in his eyes.

"What's going on?" I pulled up another chair next to him and sat heavily down. I was hoping he wasn't on something. Maybe I should have Janet check us over for any foreign viruses. He was happy? He couldn't be, he was crying.

"It's from Sam, I know it." There was a list of songs displayed on the screen, he just stared at them. It was kind of hard to know what to say to him. I didn't want to get his hopes up by leading him on with this line of questioning, but if it really was from Sam, she could be trying to tell us something, or at least him, from the intimate sounds of the song.

"Um, not to switch places with you, but how do you know?" Okay, so now it was my turn to play the skeptic. Don't get me wrong, I love Sam, my sister, but I also didn't want to see Jack's heart crushed if someone was just playing a joke on him.

"She hacked the system, sent me a memo from her lab, and when we traced it, the name Hailey came up with? Charline O'Neill? It's her." He sat back, satisfied he'd made his case. Maybe he had.

"What was in the memo?" Okay, I'm curious by nature, that's why I'm an archeologist, so sue me.

"Nothing really, just songs." He looked down at his hands, now folded calmly in his lap. "They're kinda… personal." A small smile crept across his face and I knew she had been trying to let him know she was okay. It was just in time too, Christmas was just around the corner.

"Well, I'm sure Hammond's waiting for me." He quickly closed down the computer and headed out the door. I hurried back here to my office so I could write it all down. If it really was Sam, I wanted this day to be documented.

A/N: Okay, so how do you like it? If i get enough reviews, i'll post again tonight. Thanks again!