Sam was sitting on the bed when Jack walked out of the bathroom,
"Hey, you ok?" he asked walking over to her.
Sam looked up; she was caught off guard when she heard him. All he was wearing was a towel and that surprised Sam.
"Umm…yeah, ah your sister is, um in the living room" she said quietly. Jack smiled,
"Sib?" he asked.
She just nodded, trying to not look at him; he moved over to the bed in front of her, and knelt down looking at her.
"You ok," she looked into his eyes and nodded.
"Why don't you go and have a shower and freshen up and I'll go talk to Sib" Jack said.
They both stood up and then Sam walked to the bathroom but before she got to the door Jack gently grabbed her wrist and turned her to face him, he kissed her gently on the lips and whispered,
"I love you" she smiled at him.
"I know, I love you too" then she turned and walked into the bathroom to have her shower while Jack got dressed.
When he was dressed he walked down to the living room and stopped when he saw Dixon sitting on the sofa.
"My Sib, how you've grown, and got hairier" Dixon looked at Jack who was grinning,
"Knock it off Jack" Dixon said as he stood up.
"Cleo wanted to show Sib her new room."
"Ah and you weren't invited to see it" Jack said in a patronizing voice. Dixon just made a face at Jack, until he saw his wife come up behind Jack. She was trying to sneak up on him.
"Don't bother Sib, I heard you as soon as you came out of Cleo's room" he said, still grinning.
"Spoil sport" she said walking past him.
"Come outside with me, I need to talk to you" she said taking Jack's hand and dragging him toward the sliding glass door.
"I love how she tells me what to do and still takes you with her where ever she goes" Jack said to Dixon, who just smiled.
When they got outside and the door was closed, Sib stopped and turned around. Facing Jack, she took something out of her purse.
"Mum wanted to give this to you before you left, but she never got the chance," she said handing him a small jewelry box.
He took it and opened it; inside was an 18k white gold band with an array of milgrain-edged flowers and leaves. Each petal and leaf was accented with full cut diamonds. The round cut aquamarine solitaire weighed a little over half a carat.
Jack looked up at Sib "this was Nana's wedding ring" he stated.
"Yep, you of all people know that she left it to you in her will; remember, because Krissy made such a fuss" Sib smiled at the memory.
Jack nodded "Yeah, Sara never wanted it, she wanted a new one" Jack said remembering why his mother still had it. Sib stiffened a yawn,
"You should go home and get some sleep, and take the little toot with you to bed" Jack said.
Walking back inside, he slipped the box into his pocket when he saw Sam with Cleo in her arms.
Sib moved over to Sam and Cleo.
"Goodbye honey" she said to Cleo.
"Bye Sam, oh and if Dave says anything mean to you like he did earlier again, tell me. I'll make sure he pays" Sib said smiling at Sam as she gave her a wink, Sam smiled back.
"I'll keep that in mind, thanks" she said.
Sib turned and looked at Dixon, who moaned and mumbled something that sounded like 'there goes my fun' just before Jack whacked him across the head.
"What did you say to her!?" Jack asked, Dixon moved closer to his wife.
"Come on honey you must be tired" he said, as he began to move her closer to the door in an attempt to get away from Jack's wrath before he ended up dead. When they were both in the car Jack waved goodbye as they drove away.
When he went back into the house Sam and Cleo were in the kitchen, Cleo was sitting on the counter and Sam was standing in front of her. Jack walked up behind Sam and wrapped his arms around her and rested his head on her shoulder.
"Who wants to go shopping again?" Jack asked.
"Me" Cleo said grinning.
"What for?" Sam asked.
"Well, we need food, and we also need to get someone some toys" he said looking at Cleo. Sam nodded her agreement.
"I'll go get dressed if you want to get Cleo's shoes and jacket on her."
"Ok," he said before turning Sam in his arms and kissing her on the lips.
"I also need to stop by the base," she said, walking out of the kitchen.
"Ok, but only for a few minutes" he called after her, and then he turned to Cleo.
"So my little angel, shall we get you ready?" he asked, picking her up.
"Yes, and you to"
"Yeah, I should probably put on some shoes myself" he said.
They walked down to her room and she picked the pair of shoes she wanted to wear. She put them on and Jack showed her how to tie the laces in a bow. Once done they went into his bedroom where Sam was getting dressed.
"Whoa, sorry" Jack said as he saw her putting her t- shirt on. She turned around to see Jack and Cleo standing there.
"Jack! ah, I'm almost ready."
"Ok, I just came to get my shoes" Sam nodded.
He went and got his shoes and sat on the bed to put them on; by that time Sam was dressed and she put her shoes on as well.
"Ok campers, ready to go spend some money?" Jack asked, rubbing his hands together and grinning.
"YAAAAH" Cleo said as she jumped up and down on the bed.
"Ok sweetie come on, now I know just what we need to get you."
"What's that's unkie J?"
"A trampoline" he said and her eyes lit up like a Christmas tree.
She jumped off the bed and grabbed both Jack and Sam's hand and pulled them out of the room.
"Jack, you're spoiling her" Sam whispered to him.
"Well, it was either that have her ruin the bed."
"Good point."
Cleo let go of their hands so they could put their jackets on since it was cold outside. Sam handed Cleo her jacket and she was able to put it on by herself. Jack zipped it up for her and she gave him a thank you kiss. Then the three of them walked out of the house together. Jack locked up before they walked down the steps to his garage; he used the small remote on his key ring to open the garage door. When it was up, Cleo walked with Jack to his side of his truck, since her car seat was on that side.
He unlocked the doors and opened the back door; then he lifted Cleo up and put her in her car seat. He buckled the seat belt around the car seat then tickled her stomach which made her giggle and made him smile. Closing the door he moved to the driver's door and got in and put on his seat belt before starting up his truck.
"How about we head to the base before we go shopping?" Jack asked Sam who was already in the passenger seat waiting.
"Sure, I'll only be a few minutes anyway," she said.
Jack started his truck and they made their way to the base. Twenty minutes later they arrived at the SGC. They made their way down the many levels and when they reached the last check point Ferretti was waiting for them.
"Hey guys" he said grinning, and then looked to Cleo who was holding both Jack and Sam's hands.
"Hey pip, want to come with me while your uncle and Sam go talk to the general?" he asked.
She looked up at Jack then Sam, both smiled and nodded.
"Ok" she said letting go of their hands and taking a few steps forward to take Ferretti's hand.
He smiled and nodded to Sam and Jack before heading off, saying he'd be in the rec room when they were ready to leave.
Jack and Sam walked to the general's office; when they got there Sam knocked and they waited for the 'come'. When it came they went in and they both stood at attention.
"Colonel, Major," he said waving for them to sit.
"What can I do for you?" he asked after they both sat down.
Sam looked at General Hammond "I would like to request the transfer to the labs that we talked about, Sir" she said. Hammond looked her in the eye,
"Are you sure Major?"
Sam nodded "Yes sir, more than anything."
Hammond nodded, he'd known the second she had asked him the first time that this would happen; truth be told, he'd been expecting it since the za'tarc incident.
"Ok, I'll file the transfer papers," he said and stood up.
"The Joint Chief's and President want to keep you on as an Air Force officer, so you will keep your rank Sam" he said smiling as he walked around the desk.
"You already spoke to the Joint Chief's?" Sam asked.
"No, not yet, but they thought this would happen sooner or later" Sam and Jack just sat there in shock.
"Now Jack, I'm going to pull the father thing on you since Jake isn't here," Jack paled slightly.
"So help you God if you hurt her…" Jack nodded his head fast and repeatedly, while Sam giggled.
"And Sam" he said pulling her up from her seat and hugging her.
"I'm glad you're happy" he whispered into her ear.
"I am" she whispered back, and then Jack stood up.
"Now, I assume the two of you have a small little niece running around here somewhere" he looked at Jack smiling.
"Yeah, Ferretti has her in the rec room" Jack said.
"Crap, that reminds me, that probably wasn't the best idea" Jack said making his way out of the room quickly. Hammond and Sam shared a confused look before following him.
Jack moved as quickly as he could to the rec room. Cleo was talking about something he couldn't quite hear from the door so he moved in slightly and saw SG-2, 4, 5, and 8, sitting there listening to the little girl.
"So Cleo, what do you think of Sam?" one of the SG-5 marines asked.
"Sam is very nice, I like her," she replied and they all chucked at the big smile she gave.
"What do you think your uncle Jack thinks of her?" SG-4's CO asked.
Cleo thought about it for a minute, then pulled something out of the pocket of her blue sweatshirt and handed it to Ferretti. Jack instantly knew what it was when he saw the box, but he quickly checked his pockets "Crap" he whispered.
"Cleo Charlotte O'Neill Kawalski" he called from the door; she jumped and the SG teams turned to see Jack standing in the door way. She looked up at him innocently and he moved over to Ferretti to take the box back.
He swiped it out of Ferretti's hand and glared at him, then mumbled something in another language; the man paled slightly. Jack then he turned to Cleo.
"Where did you get this?" he asked. She didn't answer, but pointed to Jack's pants pocket.
"Jack, it wasn't her fault" SG-8's CO said.
"I damn well know it wasn't; you had no right to ask her those questions, she's only five" he said to the men in the room.
He then picked up Cleo and walked out the room. Hammond and Sam were standing at the door. Sam looked worried, but he just shook his head and continued out the door.
"Sir" he said to Hammond.
Sam and Jack left to go to the surface leaving Hammond to deal with the other officers, and oh, did he ever.
When they were in the elevator Cleo looked at Sam,
"I sorry" she said quietly. Sam ran a hand through her hair. "Its ok honey" she said before looking up at Jack who shifted Cleo so he could see her face.
"I'm sorry I yelled at you honey, I wasn't angry with you," he put his hand on her little face and stroke it.
"I'm sorry I took little box, I won't do again" she cried.
"I know you won't honey, and it's good that you know not to do it again without asking first" he said, then kissed her on the top of her head and stoked her back to calm her down.
"I love you, you know that right?" he asked, she nodded and sniffled before laying her head on his shoulder.
"I'm sorry I upset you angel" he whispered.
Sam could see the pain in his eyes at seeing Cleo sad because he got angry with the others did in the room. She took his hand in hers and gave it a gentle squeeze letting him know that it was ok and she was there for him.
TBC…