AN: There was a paragraph that was missing in the last chapter. It was supposed to indicate that Sam and Scott were talking in the gateroom while waiting for SG-1 to return. Sorry about the confusion.

The briefing with SG's 18 and 24 hadn't taken long. They reported that SG-1 had arrived, made it to the mine, camped for the night, and departed the following morning. There was no evidence of a fight or anything to suggest that SG-1 had been ambushed. Jack had dismissed the eight men, and contemplated his next move, with his head in his hands. He couldn't have been sitting there for longer than five minutes, when he heard the klaxons announce the unscheduled incoming wormhole. He jumped up, and ran down the steps to the control room.

"It's SG-1, Sir." Walter announced.

Cam's face appeared on the screen, but Jack could not authorize the iris opened just yet.

"Colonel, report."

"Sir, we were captured by Jaffa."

"When?"

"About 9 hrs ago."

"Are they pursuing you?"

"No. Request permission to return to base."

"Granted."

Jack turned to Walter who opened the iris, and called armed guards to the gateroom. The four members of SG-1 had been taken by the Jaffa and there was no telling what had happened. Jack watched as Cam, Daniel, Teal'c and Bosco all emerged from the event horizon, handed their weapons to the guards, and leave for the infirmary. As soon as they were cleared by Dr. Lam, he would start the briefing to find out what had happened. He picked up the phone to tell Sam that they had arrived back.

Jack listened as Daniel and Cam told their versions.

"So no sign of them until you got ringed up?"

"No, nothing. The Al'kesh was cloaked until it was right on top of us, Sir."

"Then what?"

"We were taken to a camp of sorts. Whatever it was, it had been there long enough for structures to be built."

"Daniel?"

"I agree with Cam. We didn't see much so I can't even begin to guess how long they've been there. As soon as we landed we were locked inside different cells, with no windows."

"Who's Jaffa were they?" Jack directed his question to Teal'c.

"I have not seen that symbol before. I am not aware of which goa'uld was portraying their god."

"How did you get out of there?"

"Bosco got me out." Cam volunteered.

"Cam and Bosco came for me. Then we got Teal'c out." Daniel looked puzzled as he explained how they got out, and walked back to the gate.

"Bosco?"

"Yes Sir."

"How did you get out?"

"The cell I was in had a few loose bricks around the bars. I knocked them loose, and squeezed out."

"How did you know where the gate was? As soon as we got out of there, you just started walking, and we followed." Daniel had asked on the planet and hadn't recieved an answer.

"I noticed the sun's path the day before, and where the hills lined the valley. It was just a lucky guess, Colonel."

To Jack it sounded all too easy. They had just escaped, walked out of a Jaffa camp, and walked several hours to the gate, without being pursued. He dismissed SG-1, asking for their complete reports by the morning. As Daniel turned to leave, Jack beckoned him to the office.

"Doesn't it seem, well, all too easy to you?"

"It didn't at the time. Now, yeah, I guess it sounds like a piece of cake."

"What do you make of it."

"I'm not too sure. If the Jaffa haven't seen their god in a while, maybe they let things slip a little. There wasn't that many of them either. Probably at most 30 Jaffa. I heard women and children through the walls, so there must be a village of them. When we left the building they placed us in, we didn't see any Jaffa."

"Did you get a good look at the village?"

"No. The building was on the outskirts, near a treed area. We ran straight for cover, expecting someone to notice us missing and start chasing us."

"But nothing?"

"No."

"That's a pretty big slip they made then. What about the mine?"

"We brought back pictures and some samples, but I think it might be tapped dry."

"I'm not sending anymore teams until we find out what's going on, or even if it's worth it."

"What's next?"

"For you guys? A few days off."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Take two days, get away from the base, and take Sam with you."

"Sam? Is she ok?"

"She's fine. She was just in a really pissy mood this morning."

"Why? What did you say to her?"

"Me! I didn't say anything."

"Sorry, I just assumed..." Daniel broke off as he tried to quell the laughter bubbling up at Jack's offended expression.

"She got an email from Mark. That's all she would tell me."

"I'll talk to her. Got any plans for the next two days?"

"Not yet. Depends on what happens."

"Well, if you wanna get everyone together for a night, just let me know."

"Sure. Sounds good. I'll figure something out."

"Oh, check in with Vala. She was pretty worried when you didn't stop by earlier."

"Sure. I'll see if she recognizes the Jaffa's symbol while I'm at it."

Sam turned at the knocking on her door.

"Daniel. You ok?"

"Yeah, fine."

"What kept you?"

"Some Jaffa with security issues."

"You all make it out uninjured?"

"Yeah. We've got to hand in our mission reports tomorrow morning, then we've all got a few days off."

"That's good." Sam turned back towards her computer.

"You got any plans?"

"What? For today?"

"Tomorrow."

"I was going to stay and do some work on the delivery system. I'm not satisfied with how it performed, and there's got to be better way."

"Aren't you scheduled to take some time off?"

"I want to get this done."

"How is the house hunting going?"

"Not well. I can't drive so I can't go see places. Besides, I'm not spending much time at home right now anyways."

"I drive."

"Daniel, I can't ask you to cart me around, looking at houses."

"Yes you can. It could be fun. Call your agent. We'll look this weekend."

"You sure?"

"Yeah."

"Thanks Daniel."

"Don't mention it. I've gotta go write that report for Jack, and then I'm crashing. Not enough sleep last night."

"Vala was asking about you." Sam wore a sly grin as she dropped the comment.

"Jack mentioned it. I'll go see her before I go to my office. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Night Daniel."

Daniel covered a yawn as he waved at Sam. She turned back to her computer, once again absorbed in her work.

Sam had to admit that house hunting with Daniel was fun. He knew her tastes and her dislikes, and managed to point out all the good details, and bad points, in each house they looked at. On Friday they had looked at 3 houses, all not possible future homes, and they had several lined up for that day. As Daniel drove up to the fourth house, Sam opened her eyes wide. At first glance, she knew this was her favourite so far. It was set a little further away from the road than the other houses, and had several trees surrounding the lot.

Daniel parked, and grabbed Sam's crutches from the back seat. As they waited for the agent to arrive, they took the opportunity to explore the yard. There was a lush lawn surrounding the house, with flower beds along the front of the lot. Around the back, a wooden patio, only a foot or so off the ground, connecting to the living room with french doors. There was a two car garage around the back, and the trees kept the back yard quite private. The agent arrived, and let them in. Sam barely heard Daniel's comments as she looked around, loving everything she saw. The house was unlike any she'd lived in before. The living room and dining room had high ceilings, and the kitchen was very spacious. Upstairs, the bedrooms opened up to a walkway, that overlooked the living room and dining room. The basement was unfinished, so she could do as she pleased with it.

She barely heard Daniel or the agent ask her if she liked the place.

"I'm sorry?"

"We were asking what you thought."

"Daniel, I love this place."

"Enough to not look at the last one?"

"Yes. I want this house. What do you think?"

"Sam, it's up to you. You're the one who's going to be living here."

"I know. I just want a friends opinion."

"I think it's unique. It's only a few years old, so there shouldn't be any problems with the place. The only think I can see causing problems, is the size of the yard, and the maintenance it will need. That's going to be a lot of leaves to clean up in the fall."

"Yeah, but, it'd be worth it. I mean, this place is great! Just think of what I can do with the yard. And the garage. There's enough space for my car, space to work on it, and maybe a bike or two."

"Two?"

"Well, there's so many different ones I want."

"Fair enough. Should I go get the agent?"

"Yes."

Daniel left the living room to get the agent, who had left as the conversation started, to give them some privacy.

As they were driving back to Daniel's house, Daniel remembered Jack's comment about doing something one of the nights they had off.

"Sam, Jack mentioned doing something this weekend."

"What?"

"He didn't say. You up for it?"

"Yeah. Depending on what we do, I might need to stop by my place to get some clothes."

"Sure. Let me give him a call."

Daniel pulled out his cell phone and called Jack. Plans were made for dinner and drinks. Daniel drove Sam to her place, and waited patiently while she grabbed some new clothes from her closet. He had offered to help, but she declined, stating that she could get up and down a few flights of stairs with a backpack. As he was waiting, his phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Daniel. Is she with you right now?"

"Hi Jack. How are you?"

"Daniel. Answer my question."

"No. She's up at her place getting some stuff for tonight. Why?"

"I just wanted to ask if you'd talked to her yet."

"We've spent the past day together. Of course we've talked."

"Daniel, stop avoiding the point here."

"What point?" Daniel knew what Jack was getting at, but couldn't miss the opportunity to aggravate him.

"Daniel, stop. I'll put it in plain English seeing as you're not as smart today as you usually are. Did you talk to Sam about whatever was buggin her the other day."

"No."

"No?"

"No. As in the opposite of yes."

"I know what it means. Why didn't you talk to her?"

"She didn't seem too bothered by it."

"So?"

"Well, I didn't see the point of dragging up whatever put her in a bad mood. She seems to have dealt with it on her own."

"Fine."

"Jack. What's with you?"

"Forget it."

"Ok. Are you coming with Teal'c?"

"No. He left for Dakara this morning. He'll be back in just under 48hrs, hopefully with some information for us. Did you talk to Vala last night?"

"Not for long. I woke her up when I finally got there, so I left quickly."

"When you're back on Monday, talk to her, find out what she knows, if she knows anything."

"Sure. Sam's back, so I'll talk to you tonight?" Sam had opened the back door, tossed her crutches and backpack onto the backseat, and hopped into the passenger seat.

"Who are you talking to?"

"I was talking to Jack, but he hung up on me."

"Ok, I'm good. Let's go."

Sam was surprised at the choice of restaurant. It definitely wasn't the usual casual dinner. Thankful she had a pair of dress pants that fit over her cast, she carefully navigated her way towards their table. Jack hadn't arrived yet, but she and Daniel ordered their drinks while they waited. It wasn't long before he arrived, and she couldn't help herself appreciate the way he looked. He was wearing a blue dress shirt, with no tie, a matching black pair of pants and jacket, and his hair was as messy as always.. The whole ensemble complimented him in ways that she couldn't put into words. He smiled as he sat down, and Sam felt butterflies start moving as his eyes settled on her.

"What kept you?" Daniel inquired before Jack even sat down.

"Siler."

"Oh?"

"Just something with the iris."

"What's wrong with it?" Sam's interest peaked, and Jack refocused on her.

"Something about the manual control."

"Should I check on it on Monday?"

"If Siler hasn't fixed it by then, sure."

The waiter arrived to take Jack's drink order, and to suggest the chef's special. All three opened their menus so they could be ready to order when the waiter returned. Once their choices were made, and the order placed, the three carried an easy conversation, trying to stay away from discussing work.

Daniel brought up Sam's choice in house, and Jack inquired when she could be taking possession. Sam was unsure how long it would take, but explained the layout of the house. Jack told her that if she needed a hand moving, to give him a call. Daniel seconded that, as Sam thanked them. She had hoped that her cast would be off before she moved, but after seeing where she would be moving too, wanted to move as soon as she could. The conversation stayed on light subjects as the dinner ended.

"So, you guys up for anything else?"

"I can't eat another bite." Daniel patted his stomach to make his point.

"I'm not tired yet. What do you have in mind, Jack?"

"I dunno. Can't go too many places dressed like this."

"How about a few games of pool?"

"Daniel?" Jack knew that Sam enjoyed pool, but Daniel tended not to play when they went.

"Sure, why not. I just want to go home and change first."

"Me too." If she was playing pool, she wanted to get out of these clothes. Bending over a pool table to take a shot, in the shirt she was wearing, was going to give away quite a view.

"I've got a change in my rental. How 'bout I meet you guys there."

"Jack, why don't you come back to my place. That way you can change, and we'll only take one car, so if we have too much fun, we can get back to the other car in the morning."

"Sounds good to me. Sam?"

Sam nodded her agreement with the nights plans and dug in her purse for her wallet as the waiter approached with their bill. She watched as Daniel pulled out his wallet and Jack shook his head.

"It's on me guys."

"Jack." Sam and Daniel protested.

"Hey, I'm not down that often. Take advantage of this while you can."

Jack handed his card to the waiter, and told Daniel and Sam they could head out. He'd be at Daniel's shortly behind them, and figured that Sam would need a few extra minutes to change.

Sam rummaged through the clothes she had at Daniels. She cursed the cast on her leg for the millionth time, as most of her pants wouldn't fit over it. She grabbed a pair of jeans that had been cut from the knee down, to accommodate the cast, and a shirt. She changed quickly, tied her hair back, and went into the living room to wait on the boys. Daniel emerged first, and sat down beside her.

"Hey Daniel, how long are we gonna be waitin on Carter?"

Jack emerged from the bathroom, and as soon as he saw Sam and Daniel waiting for him, the smirk vanished from his face. Sam couldn't help but laugh, while Daniel got her coat from the closet by the door.

"No giggling, Carter."

"Yes Sir."

"Hey, drop the sir. Why are you still laughing?"

"Just the expression on your face."

"Glad I can be a source of amusement for you Carter."

"Cut the Carter crap, Jack." Jack knew she wasn't mad at the use of her last name, as she spluttered the words out between laughing.

"C'mon guys. You ready yet?"

Daniel called from down the hallway. Jack followed Sam out the door, and shut the door behind him.

On the way back, Jack insisted on stopping at a liquor store to get some beer, as he assumed Daniel wouldn't have any at his place. Daniel had protested the thought of more alcohol, but told Jack he was more than welcome to crash on the couch for the night. Once back at his house, Jack opened three beers, and sat down infront of the TV. Sam grabbed one of the beers and sat down next to him. Daniel took the offered bottle from Jack, sat down on the couch and drank.

Sam couldn't remember the last time she had drunk this much. She sat there, feeling her head start to swim, but eagerly drank the beer, and enjoying the evening. Coming to think of it, she hadn't seen Jack drink that much in a long time. She remembered the last time they had drank, many many years ago. It was after he had the ancient information downloaded into his brain for the second time. She had gone over to his house, to talk to him, but Daniel and Teal'c had shown up, before she could say what she went to say. After General Hammond had left, the three of them had continued to drink, Teal'c abstaining.

Sam felt a nudge and turned to Jack. He was pointing at Daniel, who had fallen asleep on the chair.

"You should wake him, Jack."

"Me? Why me?"

"You're closer, and if I have to get up, you're going to have to get up to get my crutches anyways."

"Good point."

Jack leaned over the arm of the couch, and poked Daniel hard. Daniel's eyes shot open, and he glared at Jack.

"If you're going to sleep here, I'm taking your bed Danny."

"Thanks Jack. I'm heading to bed."

Daniel stood up and staggered to his room. He returned shortly with a few pillows and two blankets, tossed them on the chair he had vacated, and stumbled back to his room.

"Night Daniel." Jack called to him.

"You tired?"

"Nah. I'm gonna be up for a while. You?"

"I think I need another beer."

"Here, let me grab it. You pick out a movie or something on TV to watch."

Sam watched as Jack left for the kitchen, and flipped through the channels, trying to find something interesting.

"No science shows." Jack had returned with two more beers. He placed them on the coffee table, and wandered over to Daniel's dvd's.

"Fine. What do you want to watch then?"

"Nothing sappy."

"No horror."

"I doubt Daniel has anything like that. Here, how bout Executive Decision."

"Never heard of it."

"It's about a geek and a group of commando's." Jack grinned as he remembered seeing the movie after he had come back from Abydos.

"Sure."

Jack put the movie in, and grabbed the pillows and blankets from the chair, dropping them on the floor closer to where he was sitting. He put a pillow on the coffee table, and dragged it closer to Sam.

"Put your leg on that. I always found it more comfortable."

"You broke your leg?"

"Years ago. Not as bad as yours, just a fracture."

"Thanks Jack."

As the movie started playing, Jack jumped up and turned off the lights, after grabbing a few more beers from the fridge.

"Don't want to have to get up in the middle, and I don't like the glare off the lights on the TV." He replied to Sam's questioning look, placing the beer on the table.

Daniel woke up with a nagging headache, and wandered to the bathroom for some asprin. He headed into the kitchen to get some water, and stopped dead in his tracks. The TV was on some sports network, with no sound, and Sam was sleeping in Jack's arms. Daniel peered at Jack's face to check that he was asleep. He could see a slight smile on Jack's face, a look of peace on Sam's from the light off the TV, and both were fast asleep. Sam's head was on Jack's chest, her arm around his waist. His left arm was behind her head, and the other one rested on the arm around his waist. He wandered back to his room, water forgotten, grinning.

AN: HAPPY NEW YEAR TO EVERYONE!!!!!!!