Harry looked uncertainly down at his cards, and then at the bright candies piled in front of him.
"I bet… 2 red ones…"
Jack frowned, looking over the boy's shoulder at his hand.
"Bet at least three, Harry," he urged.
Harry nodded, and pushed three M&Ms into the pot.
Next to where he and Jack were sitting, Daniel pushed three in as well, looking smug enough that Jack wondered if maybe he didn't have a good hand. Daniel didn't have a great poker face, after all.
"I will look at you and lift you," Sirius declared when everyone looked at him, expectantly.
Sam smiled.
"You'll see him and raise, Sirius," she told him. Like Jack was helping Harry, Sam was sitting beside Sirius, watching him play his hands out and giving him advice and help when he needed it. Not surprisingly, neither of them had ever played Poker before – but both had been more than willing to learn.
"That's what I said."
"I will call," Teal'c told them, pushing his own candy into the pile on the table.
Jack motioned for Harry to put more candy in to match the raise, and then looked at Sirius expectantly.
"What do you have?"
"Two pairs."
Jack grinned, nudging Harry with his elbow to signal him to lay down his own cards.
"We have three aces."
Daniel and Teal'c both scowled and tossed in their cards, but Sam only smiled wider.
"He has two pair, Jack. Fives, and fives."
Sirius laid down his cards, and sure enough he was holding four fives.
Bah.
"We ought to call it a night," Daniel said, as a gloating Sirius raked in his winnings. "It's getting late, and you guys have a busy day tomorrow."
Jack nodded his agreement.
"We can play tomorrow night."
"Unless you guys crash and burn tomorrow…"
O'Neill scowled at Daniel for even suggesting something like that, and stood up, putting his hand on the boy's shoulder.
"He'll do fine."
Harry gave Jack a weak smile in thanks, and Sam gathered all the M&Ms into a large plastic bag.
"Hey! Those are mine!" Sirius objected.
"And they will be again, tomorrow," she said, walking into the kitchen and putting them in the fridge.
"You don't eat them?" the wizard asked, confused.
"You would not desire to consume them if you knew how long we have been using them," Teal'c said, standing up as well. He was definitely ready to call it a night.
"That bad, huh?"
"Over a year and counting," Jack confirmed. "But if you really want your share…"
"No. You can have them."
"Good. Harry, you have the guest room. Sirius? You can go dog and curl up in front of the fireplace."
Sirius rolled his eyes, reaching out and cuffing Harry when the boy laughed.
"Very funny."
Jack smiled. He thought it was.
"Are you coming with us tomorrow?" he asked Sam.
"Nah. I think it should be just you guys…"
Besides, she didn't want to make Harry nervous by giving him too big of an audience his first time trying to drive.
"Aww, you should come, Sam," Sirius said. "It'll be fun. I might even give it a try…"
"All the more reason to stay home," she told him.
"Why's that?"
"Because if you kill the colonel here, then I get to be in charge of the next mission."
Now it was Jack's turn to act annoyed.
"Very funny, Carter."
She smiled. She thought it was.
OOOOOOOOOOO
It was much later, and the O'Neill house was quiet. Once everyone had left, things had settled down fairly quickly. Harry had turned his attention to the driver's booklet they'd picked up, reading in the makeshift bed that Jack had made him on the sofa, while Sirius and Jack sat at the table for a final cup of coffee before bed, speaking quietly to avoid disturbing Harry's reading.
"So how are things going?" Jack asked, giving Sirius an intent look that made it apparent he was talking about things with Voldemort and the Order.
"So far, we're holding our own. Now that everyone knows the truth, it's a bit easier on us, but many people are afraid. And with good reason."
"He's that bad, huh?"
The wizard nodded, his expression bleak.
"He's worse than that, Jack, really. Even though he hasn't done anything nearly as destructive as he did last time, most of us believe it's just because he isn't ready to, yet."
"Think he's planning something?"
"I think he's mystified by Harry… and by you."
Jack frowned.
"If he's waiting for me to come over to the dark side, he'll be waiting a long time."
Sirius nodded.
"We know that. But he still doesn't know what the prophecy said, and he wants to, you better believe it. You need to be vigilant."
Jack shrugged.
"I have other things to worry about right now, Sirius." He had the SGC and his team to be specific to take care of. "If he comes calling, though – and who knows? Maybe someday he will… he's going to run into a lot of firepower being shoved down his throat."
"Do you really think it'll be any use against him?"
Jack leaned forward a little; his expression bland, and the wizard leaned close as well.
"Should I shoot you to compare?"
Sirius rolled his eyes and pushed his chair back with a smile. He wasn't as used to O'Neill as his team was, and was still surprised at how flippantly the man took on the dangers around him.
"I think I'll pass, thanks."
Jack smiled, and stood up.
"I'm going to bed. If you get hungry, there are some steak bones in the fridge you can gnaw on."
"Thanks."
Sirius' voice was filled with sarcasm, but it was completely wasted on Jack.
"You're welcome. I'll see you in the morning."
