"Jacob, we've been at this for three hours! And we're not getting any closer to finding her." Jack paced the room like a trapped tiger. He, Lt. Hailey, and Jacob had been tracking the tens of taps they had recently discovered running throughout the system. A few had been reported to Gen. Hammond as they found that the NID must have been spying into the system again. The rest were assumed to be Sam, though none had given them any leads as to where Sam was exactly.

"Sir, I'm getting a hit!" Hailey's excited voice flitted through the office, echoing off the cement walls. The familiar beeping signifying a newly received memo sounded from the laptop in front of Hailey. "It's coming from the lab, Sir."

"Open it," Jack ordered, coming to stand behind the Lt. This could be the break they'd been looking for. If it was Sam, they could convince her to come home.

"Sir, it could be personal." Hailey was nervous, she didn't particularly like reading her CO's mail.

"I don't care, just open it." Jack stood behind the chair, drumming his fingers impatiently on the headrest.

"Thank you"

"That's it!" Jack pounded his fist on the back of the chair, throwing Hailey forward.

"Jack calm down." Jacob moved to Jack, resting his hand on Jack's upper arm. "She'll come back, this was her way of letting us know." Jack's look of disbelief struck Jacob hard, seeing their growing friendship over the months.

"Okay, Hailey," Jack dropped his head in resignation. Jacob knew his daughter and if he said she was coming home, well he'd just have to trust him. "You can shut it down. Our leave has already started, go home. Oh, and if you wouldn't mind, I'd prefer if we held the party at my house, tomorrow, 20.00." Jack nodded for her to leave the room, sending his thanks through his eyes.

"Jacob, could I talk to you, personally, for a moment?" Jack held out his hand for Jacob to sit on the couch and took his chair facing him. He reached his hand inside the top drawer of his desk, searching under the papers and yo-yos he had stashed there. His fingers wrapped around the small jewelers box he had hid there years ago, never thinking he would actually have the chance to use it.

"Sure Jack, what can I do you with?" Jacob sat on the edge of the couch, smiling. He knew what this was about. He'd been expecting it for years. He only hoped Jack was doing it for the right reasons.

"Sir, after the whole Zantac-"

"Za'tarc"

"Yeah, that thing, happened I bought this." He handed the box to Jacob, focusing his eyes on the ground. He wasn't exactly comfortable with this, seeing as who exactly Jacob was, former USAF General and such, but this wasn't something he'd expected he'd be able to do so soon.

"What is this?" Jacob asked flatly. He didn't want to reveal his knowledge to Jack, figuring he'd let the younger man sweat it out for a bit.

"I figured I'd be retiring soon, but that seems to have changed in the past months. Sam's resignation will be accepted if she agrees to sign back on as a civilian leader to the scientific department. She can still be a part of SG-1 as a former military officer. She wouldn't technically report to me either, meaning, they won't be forced to court marshal either of us for our actions." He hung his head, trying to hide the shamed look on his face from Jacob. He was embarrassed that he had let them get into a court marshalable situation. Oh, he had no regrets about them, but he had been willing to destroy their careers for it, and that wasn't right.

"Do you love her?" Jack was startled by the bluntness of the question. Did he? Was he sure? He hadn't said it, to her or himself. He hadn't written it either, other than at the end of the letters, but he was sure he felt it.

"Yes, I do." A smile spread across the Colonel's face. There, he'd done it, he'd finally admitted it, to her father no less.

"That's all I need to hear." Jacob stood and handed the box back to Jack, grinning back at him. His daughter was in good hands. A little rough and traveled, but good. He knew how she felt, she'd be ecstatic.

"Thank you, Sir. This means a lot to me, hopefully us." He stood in return, showing the respect deserved and followed Jacob to the door. "When are you going back?" Grasping the metal doorknob, he swung it open, allowing Jacob to go through first.

"After Sam comes back. Depending on how it goes, I was thinking of visiting Mark on Christmas." They walked down the hall side by side, chatting like old friends. Nobody would have known the conversation that had just gone on behind closed doors.

"You're welcome to stay with me if you would like to get out of this mountain," Jack offered.

"My 'Earth' clothes still in my locker?" Jacob jokingly asked.

"Youbetcha."

The pair quickly navigated through the halls of the SGC in silence, not finding anything important to talk about. Jack was comfortable with the silence, but figured it was mostly due to a discussion Jacob must have been having with Selmac.

"Doc, hey what's going on?" Jack asked nearly knocking her over. She had been running through the hall, not paying much attention to where she was going.

"Oh, uh, Colonel O'Neill, General Carter, uh, hi." Janet bent over to pick up the papers scattered across the floor. Jack noticed that she was deliberately avoiding his eyes.

"Something wrong, Doc?" Jack grabbed her elbow, raising her up.

"Uh, no, I'm fine. Cassie's looking forward to Lt. Hailey's party," she added quickly changing the subject.

"Yeah, actually it's at my house now." Jack helped her smooth her uniform and made sure she was okay.

"Yes, Sir, we'll see you tomorrow then." And she briskly walked away, leaving two very stunned men in her wake.

"Something's going on with that woman," Jack commented.

A/N: Okay, this is all you're getting for now. Thanks and i hope you like it, i might give you more tomorrow, depending on how many reviews i get!