A/N: Thank you all so much for the reviews! They really do help me develop the story.
Samantha Carter was a genius by anybody's standards. Most of her teachers adored her because she always put her all into her work and had a passion for physics that they had longed to see in one of their students for so long. She was a prodigy. That was the only reason why she was able to get her Ph.D. in five years - the time it took most to just get a Masters degree: she had the brains, driving force and only needed four hours of sleep per night to be at her best.
Needless to say her graduation from college was going to be attended by all of her co-workers and her family – they were too proud of her to miss it. So, by the time her date with Jack on Tuesday rolled around Sammie's entire family was sitting in her cramped living room (only cramped when you have seven people squished into a one person apartment). Sammie's half-brother, Mark, was drilling her to no end about her relationship with the bartender, John, as she prepared for her date.
"MARK!" Sammie finally shouted as she pulled her stockings up behind the decoration partition she had set up in her room, "Shut the hell up already! John's a good guy. I like him. That should be enough for you! Hell, even Dad likes him!"
"Yeah, well, don't go comparing me to him anytime soon, Sammie," Mark said, his voice getting hard. "You're the only sister I have, it's my duty to protect you. Remember that Jo fellow."
Sammie stuck her head over the top of the five-foot tall partition, "Mark, that was seven years ago, before Mom died. This is different."
Mark looked at his sister's eyes, seeing the determination there he said in defeat, "Okay, I'll keep my mind open when I meet him. When's he supposed to be here?"
There was a knock on the door. Sammie turned back to her task of pulling up her hose before slipping into her shoes, "That's him now."
Mark eyed her warily as she stepped out from behind the partition, dressed in a light blue dress that flared at the hips and ended at her knees – perfect for dancing. "How do you know, Sammie?"
She smiled as she put on her earrings and walked out of her bedroom, "He's always ten minutes early, Mark."
That was certainly … different. Most guys would be spot on time … or late; but John was early? Strange, Mark thought as he followed his sister into the living room. Sammie moved to answer the door, but their Uncle Irving got there first.
"Hello," John said warily while still being able to remain polite. "I'm John," he added, holding out the hand that wasn't holding a small bouquet of different colored daisies.
Irving took his hand, "I'm Irving, Sammie's uncle. Please, come in."
John walked in, looking around the room, over the many faces staring at his semi-casual attire in what appeared to be wonder and amazement. John was at that moment convinced that the look Sammie had when she was reading her textbooks or trying a new concoction of his was genetic. There was no way this was just a coincidence.
Mark was standing protectively in front of Sammie, effectively blocking John's view of the woman. "Hello," Sammie's older brother said gruffly.
John smiled slightly, "Hi. I'm John. You must be Mark, right?"
"Yeah, I am. How'd you know?"
"Believe it or not, Sammie talks about you a lot. You're the principal at a high school for troubled students, right?"
"That's right," Mark was somewhat impressed that the man knew about him, and that Sammie had spoken about him in the first place.
An arm shot up from behind Mark and waved, "Hi, John."
"Hi, Sammie."
"Care to move, Mark?" Sammie asked, getting a little impatient. "We have reservations to make, you know!"
Jacob watched the interactions with amusement. He knew that the retired Colonel was no match for his stepson's protective streak, but this was too funny to stop. Irving thought the same, having already decided he liked the man, despite his age. Sammie and Jacob had done all they could to reassure the other men in her life that John O'Neill was a good guy – now it was up to them to accept it.
"Reservations? Where?" Mark asked, piping up at the mention of the imminent date involving his sister and this … man.
Sammie just grinned at her brother, patting his arm patronizingly as she stepped out from behind him. "Mark, Mark, Mark. You would only try to get the name of the restaurant if you were going to try and sabotage this date. I'm sorry to tell you that you're not going to be doing that."
"I could always just follow you," Mark pointed out logically.
Sammie's grin grew larger and John watched how she handled the situation with care – it was almost as fun as watching her beat the crap out of that Captain Mitchell. "Mark, if you follow us you'll just end up getting lost. This is the first time you've been here, remember? Do you really want to have to stop and ask for directions?"
Mark grumbled something under his breath – Sammie knew how much he hated asking for directions. Of course she'd use it to make him promise not to follow them. "Fine. Have her back by midnight."
Sammie and John gave Mark rather interesting looks. "And how will you know whether he does or not?"
"Jacob'll tell me," Mark said with a shrug.
Jacob cocked his head at his stepson, "No I won't."
"John, since you already know my brother, father and uncle, this is my Aunt Sophie, Uncle Irving's wife, and this is Mark's wife, Jenny and their two children, Alice and Stephan," Sammie said, pointing to each person as she said their names. "Guys, this is John O'Neill, my boyfriend."
Aunt Sophie smiled. She was an old woman with many wrinkles on her face, but John could see that she was once very beautiful and intimidating. "It's very nice to meet you all. I have heard virtually nothing about any of you except Mark," he said with a slight bow of his head.
The woman in question swatted his arm lightly. "Don't lie to them," she said jokingly.
"It's all right, Sammie," her father said, "We can take a joke. Now move it, you two. You've got reservations to keep."
Sammie grinned at her father, giving him a peck on the cheek before taking the daisies from John and putting them in the kitchen. "I'll be back later," Sammie said. "Bye, Uncle Irving, Aunt Sophie Dad, Mark, Jenny, Alice, Stephan," she said as she hugged her family goodbye.
As the pair piled into John's beloved truck, he relaxed visibly. "Wow," he said, smiling at Sammie warmly, "I'm glad that's over."
She smiled back, enjoying the view of his impeccably dressed form. "Oh, no, John. It won't be over until after the graduation."
He groaned as he turned on the engine, "Now you tell me."
A/N: So? How did I do? How do you think the family interaction was? Sucks to my assmar or do I get a new towel with my initials embossed in gold?