Thank you SO much for reviewing and for all the terrific ideas! Now, I'm set for endings of all my stories!

I'm sorry about the long wait... I was having major problems deciding what to do, but I think I have it all planned out.

This isn't beta'd... so, all mistakes are mine, and I apologize in advance.

I hope you like this chapter!


Several weeks later...

"Hold the elevator!"

Jack obligingly kept the doors open as the breathless archeologist slid in.

"Thanks, Jack."

"No problem," came the cheerful answer.

Daniel adjusted the many heavy books in his arms. "So…"

Jack looked at him. "So…?"

"How's Sam?" He asked randomly.

"She's fine."

He pushed his glasses up. "Good. I haven't seen her much recently."

"She asked Hammond for some downtime." Jack quirked an eyebrow, "We got a memo."

Daniel frowned, trying to remember. "Oh."

"Have you even left your lab in the past few days?"

"For coffee."

The elevator stopped. As the doors opened, they saw Teal'c standing there.

"O'Neill, Daniel Jackson," He greeted, stepping in.

"Morning, T," "Hey, Teal'c."

There was a brief second of silence.

"How is Major Carter, O'Neill?"

"She's good."

"And young Natalie?"

"She's good too."

"That is good."

The Colonel nodded. "Carter's having a barbeque tonight… you guys up for it?"

"Indeed."

"Daniel?" He asked.

The archeologist looked up. "Uh… yeah, I guess. What time?"

"Sometime after six."

The elevator stopped. Daniel adjusted his books again. "Okay."

"See ya then." Jack strode out of the elevator and down the corridor, disappearing out of sight moments later.

Daniel wrinkled his nose and looked at Teal'c. "What's up with Jack?"

"What is your meaning?"

"He's… different."

"How so?"

"I don't know… little things. Like, yesterday, when General Hammond left to talk to General Wood, he listened to three one-hour archeological and scientific briefings in a row and didn't complain once. Not once! And, yesterday, he was whistling."

Teal'c raised an eyebrow.

"Well… when's the last time you heard Jack whistle?"

"Not for some time," the Jaffa admitted.

"My point." Daniel frowned. "He was so grouchy last week after talking to General Hammond…" His eyes widened. "Teal'c… you don't think that something… happened… between them… do you?"

Teal'c was silent for several long moments. "Do you require any assistance with your volumes, Daniel Jackson?"

Daniel accepted the offered help and said no more.

Å

"Lucy, I'm home."

Sam looked up, a small smile playing around her lips. Placing Natalie in her crib and tucking the purple silky blanket, she hurried out of the room, down the hall and to her front door where her CO stood.

"Hi, sir."

He had to grin at her. She looked so relaxed and happy. "Where's the kid?"

"She's sleeping. I was going to keep her up for you, but I thought-"

"No, no, no," He interrupted. "You did good. She been okay?"

She tucked a hair behind her ear and pulled at her red three quarter length t-shirt. "For now- Janet says she'll start teething soon."

"Kinda early, isn't it?"

She shrugged. "I began teething at three months. She says it mostly depends on the baby."

He smiled, almost wistfully. "I wasn't there when Charlie was teething… I was… gone. I didn't seen him for six months once."

She looked at her black slacks. "I'm sorry, sir."

He shook his head slightly and looked up. "So… what we cookin'?"

She laughed and led the way to the kitchen.

Å

Daniel rang the doorbell, as Teal'c's arms were filled with groceries… such as salad, French bread, and pie for Jack.

Moments later, the door was pulled open, and a bare footed Jack stood there, Natalie in his arms.

"Hey guys!"

"Hey," Daniel said automatically. "Where's Sam?"

"In the kitchen making potato salad… it's actually pretty good."

"I heard that!" A voice called from the kitchen. "Is something burning?"

Jack yelped and thrust the baby towards Daniel. "Hold her, will ya? I'll be right back!"

Daniel gingerly took Natalie. "Hi, little one," He said quietly. 'Your outfit matches your eyes."

"Janet bought that for me," Sam said, appearing in the doorway. "C'mon in guys, the hallway's small."

Teal'c stepped in. "I am pleased to see you looking well, Major Carter."

"Thanks," She said brightly. "Daniel, do you want me to take her?"

The archeologist looked at the baby; her tiny hands were clutching his collar and she was smiling at him, showing off her pink gums. "I'm fine for now."

Sam kissed the top of Natalie's head. "She likes you."

He brightened. "Really?"

"Yeah. She screams like crazy with Cassie."

"Will Cassandra Fraiser be joining us this evening?" Teal'c inquired, adjusting his cowboy hat.

She smiled. Teal'c had a soft spot for the young girl. "No- she's has a rehearsal for her play… Oh, she told me to tell you that she expects you all to be there opening night."

"Of course we will be," Daniel said. "Have we missed one yet?"

Jack pushed open the backdoor and dropped a platter of meat on the table. "See? I don't char everything."

Sam checked the underside of her steak. "It's okay," She said with mock surprise.

"You needen't act so surprised."

She placed her hands on her hips. "You've cooked dinner every night for the past week and everything turns out burned!"

Daniel looked at Teal'c with his jaw dropped. The Jaffa had a small smile on his face, only perceptible to someone who knew him well.

"So, uh… Jack's been coming over?"

Sam glanced at him. "Colonel O'Neill has been helping me with Natalie this week."

Daniel cocked his head. "I thought we all were going to help."

"You've been so busy translating that stuff for my dad, I felt bad asking for you," She said apologetically. "And Teal'c was training all those recruits…"

"When does your dad come back?" Daniel asked, distracted by the mention of his work. "I translated several more portions of the wall… it's like a planetary history… and it's constantly mentioning 'Atlantis'."

"The city sunk underneath water many hundreds of years ago?" Teal'c asked. "I have seen the film, Daniel Jackson."

The archeologist stared at the man for a moment, trying to figure out whether he was trying to be funny or not. "Uh… right… yeah, I uh… meant… I think the Ancients built a city called Atlantis and, like Teal'c pointed out, sunk it underwater."

"You've seen Atlantis?" Jack said curiously. "Where?"

"With Cassandra Fraiser."

"Right."

Natalie gave a loud cry and stretched her hand toward the plate of meat. Sam transferred the baby into her arms and smiled at the men. "Are we going to eat or not?"

Å

The whole base knows that Sam and Jack have 'feelings' for each other... heck, half of Washington knows! How is it that they're always the last to know anything about themselves?

"Daniel, is your steak okay?" Sam questioned.

The archeologist looked down. "It appears to be… why?"

"You've been staring at it for the past couple minutes," Jack said in an injured voice.

"Yeah, it's fine. Really. I'm just not hungry," He said laying his fork.

Teal'c began clearing the plates. At Sam's protest, he informed her that both Daniel Jackson and himself would be clearing away and washing the dishes.

The Major gave in gracefully. "If you need any help, I'll be in Natalie's room."

The two men nodded and she excused herself. Moments later, she was in the doorway of the baby's room, watching an unconscious Jack changed the infant and hummed loudly. Covering a smile, she slipped out and went into the living room and went through the videos that Teal'c had brought over.

"E.T- Extra Terrestrial, Star Wars: The Revenge of the Jedi, War of the World, and… Cinderella?"

"What was that?" Jack asked.

She showed him the movies. "Teal'c has all these science fiction movies and then-"

"Cinderella," He finished.

"Yeah." Sam closed her eyes. "They're meddling again."

"With what?"

"Us."

He gave her a questioning look until it dawned on him. "Oh. That."

She had to give a small smile. After she had confronted him with their problem during the zay'tarc testing, those had been his first words.

"Carter?" There was a sound of snapping finger. "Hello… Dorothy there?"

She looked up. "Sorry, sir."

He shrugged and stuck his hands in his pocket. "Where were you?"

"All the way in Oz," She quipped. "What do we watch?"

He pointed to the DVD on top of the DVD player. "Mission Impossible, of course."

Å

As the credits rolled across the screen, Jack looked over the group of people gathered there. The scientist and the archeologist were fast asleep next to each other and the Jaffa was meditating- apparently, Teal'c had seen the movie.

Turning off the movie, he got Teal'c to take Daniel home, as Daniel driving when tired was dangerous.

He woke up his second-in-command and sent her to bed, telling her he'd stay the night which she promptly vetoed.

"Sir, you need to actually get some sleep. Go ahead and go back to base… I'll be fine."

"You sure?"

She gave him a sleepy smile. "Good night, sir."

"Yeah, sure, you betcha…"

Å

A muted violet light could be seen through window shades to anyone was who was looking.

Inside the house, the Air Force Major was eying a sheet of paper, a pen hovering over a line.

Everything she had worked for since the day she turned eighteen would be gone… a few simple words, and her life would change.

Looking at the sleeping baby next to her, she knew she couldn't let Natalie grow up, the uncertainty of whether or not her mother would come back hanging over her.
The decision made, she signed her name and turned her attention back to the letter she was writing to the General and to her CO.

Thirty minutes later, she turned off the light and went to bed. Five minutes later, she was fast asleep.


Well...

Did you like it?

I hope you did... I'm sorry if you didn't like her retiring, but I really think she would.

Anyways, PLEASE review!