A/N: Sorry i just had to fix one word that was buggin me! other than that it's exactly the same, and the next chap. should be up soon!

Jack had a feeling his day was about to get either really good, or exponentially bad when he saw Corin McGrady pull into the "driveway" followed shortly by an unknown vehicle which logically had to belong to Rick.

He stood on the porch, Sean and Jay on each side of him and Lilly in his arms. He drew strength from them, but he'd never admit that to anyone. Of course, it could always be that Sam had her arms wrapped around his middle, her cheek resting between his shoulder blades. He was certain the rest of his "family" was inside watching through the windows.

He watched as Corin stepped out of the vehicle and approached their little entourage. Gah! He felt like he was meeting his executioner. His heart started beating faster until the older man genuinely smiled at them.

"Boys," he nodded, heading straight for Jack.

A chorus of "Mr. McGrady" popped from Sean and Jack at the same time Jay said, "Grandpa Corin."

"How's that wonderful girl doing today?" he asked as he neared Jack.

The proud grandfather smiled and glanced down at the baby sleeping in his arms. "Beautiful, amazing and wonderful."

"I was talking about Lilly, Jack." Corin laughed and Jack knew if he looked behind him, Sam would be blushing. As it was, she was really trying to dig a foxhole between his shoulder blades.

Corin just nodded and headed into the cabin like a man on a mission. He'd have time to talk to the O'Neill men later, but right now, he figured the younger boys would want some time with their little brother.

Jack's head whipped back around when he heard the doors shut on the other car. He hadn't expected Kyle Stevens to be the first to approach him, not after their run in at the cemetery.

Kyle held out his hand and gave the older man a nervous smile. "Colonel."

"Kyle."

"Could I, uh, talk to you?" The teen definitely took after his older brother, well, Sean that was. He always told everybody what he thought and felt, never held anything back.

Jack nodded and started towards the dock where they could sit without Lilly getting too heavy in his arms.

As they sat, Kyle started his apology he'd been working out the whole twenty minutes. "Sir, I'm sorry for the way I acted when I saw you at the cemetery. It was rude and uncalled for. I just…"

"It's okay, kid. I know what it's like to lose someone you love."

"That's no excuse. Besides, it was no way to talk to a superior officer." Kyle grinned and leaned over to look at his niece. 5, 4, 3, 2, 1…

"What?"

"I got accepted to the Academy right before graduation. Tiff's going to college nearby. It's, uh, kinda weird, possibly ending up under Sean," he shrugged.

Jack snickered. "Oh, I don't think you have to worry about that."

Kyle was confused but chose to ignore it for now. "Well, anyway, I just wanted to apologize. I had no right and shouldn't have taken my frustrations out on you."

"It's okay, kid."

Kyle was nervous around the man, having heard about him all his life, even though he wasn't his father. The man just oozed confidence and superiority and he knew if he ever got the chance to serve under him, it'd be the best posting he'd ever get, though he was certain it'd be the toughest.

Seeing his father behind them when he turned, he gave Lilly a kiss on the forehead and left the dock, looking for Sean and Jay.

"Jack."

"Rick." The old friends sat side by side on the dock, not really sure where to start. They were perfectly happy to just sit next to each other without saying a word.

It was a good thing the dock faced the west because after three hours, neither had yet to speak and Lilly had barely stirred in Jack's arms.

Jack chanced a glance next to him, and finally spoke. "Thanks."

"For what?" Rick was genuinely confused by what Jack would ever have say thank you for.

"You got thrown into a crappy situation you didn't deserve and I can't say I could have done any better raising those guys. There's a lot of you and Karol in them."

Rick sighed heavily. "They're just as much you. Not everything is how you're raised, Jack. If I didn't know any better, I'd say Jay was your clone."

"It doesn't matter. Just… thank you for doing a job nobody had any business asking you to do." Jack looked out across the lake at the beautifully rippling waters. The sun was shining, but it wasn't too hot with the soft wind blowing off the water.

"I loved Karol with all my heart, and those guys just as much as Kyle."

The two sat in comfortable silence until Cassie came bounding down to them with Rico at her side. "C'mon, Jack! Lunch is ready and you didn't help one bit!"

Jack laughed and got up, adjusting Lilly on his shoulder so she could sleep peacefully.

When their little entourage made it up to the collapsible tables that had been set up just for this purpose, everybody was milling about trying to find their appropriate places at the tables. Jack handed his granddaughter back to her parents and took his seat beside Sam.

Once everybody had as much food on their plates as they wanted, and the chatter died down to the sound of munching jaws, Jack took the time to look around at everyone gathered there. The first thing that shocked him was his father had sneaked in at some point and was sitting next to Corin McGrady like they were old friends. They were, he supposed, to some extent, because Corin had often helped the younger man when Jack was little and had never blamed the two for Maggie's indiscretions.

The other startling factor was Jay was right next to him. He hadn't expected that even though the two of them had come to some sort of truce that morning during their swim.

When it seemed like everyone was just about finished, Jack turned to Sam and gave her a nervous smile. She just squeezed his knee in return, giving him the permission he sought. He stood, and called for everyone's attention.

"Okay, so for those of you who know me, this has been a very trying week. I don't do talking a lot, so this is the very last of it. This is a vacation people, it's supposed to be fun." He shot everyone a hopeful grin, willing them all to see he was joking. "Anyway, I want to thank everyone for coming up here, and for putting up with me and my emotional constipation."

"On a lighter note, Sam and I have an announcement we wanted to wait until everyone was together to share." Sam stood up next to him, leaving her left hand on the table in plain view.

"AAAAAAHHHHHHH!" Cassie screamed when she noticed the antique platinum diamond ring now gracing Sam's ring finger. "YOU GUYS ARE GETTING MARRIED!" She jumped up and ran around the table and latched onto the couple, squeezing them as hard as she could.

Sam and Jack just smiled and nodded their heads. A chorus of congratulations broke out among the rest of their group and hugs and hand shakes were passed around, all the while Cassie never let go of Sam.

When the din finally died down, Trish asked, "Have you guys thought of a date yet?"

"Not quite. Just that it'll be soon and very small. You here, Hammond and Mark and his family," Jack answered for them. In reality, they wanted to get married as soon as feasibly possible, but knew they'd have to give everyone time to take off work and make travel plans.

Matt stood as Sam and Jack moved to take their seats again. Cassie had moved back over by Daniel. "Sam, welcome to our loud, obnoxious family. If this week hasn't scared you off, you're one resilient woman. My son's a lucky man."

Everyone cheered yet again. The rest of their lunch was full of excited chatter and no doubt the rest of their vacation was spent in laughter.