A/N – Thanks for all the reviews!! We're having this terrible snowstorm here in Milwaukee so I've been stuck inside all day and had a chance to get a lot of writing done… Ok, here's a little FAQ of stuff that hasn't been mentioned yet and may or may not be mentioned later:

Yes, Teal'c is going to be in this one. Just not yet.

Charlie is about 14-15 ish.

It's set in Season 4, as you'll be able to gather from this chappie if you're very clever

Chapter 2

It took Jack until Wednesday to try calling Sam, and then she wasn't even home. Finally on Friday morning he managed to get ahold of her, though she sounded slightly groggy when she answered the phone.

"Hey it's Jack…I didn't wake you up did I?"

He could hear Sam yawning. "No no I'd gotten up a little while ago. Sorry, I'm just getting over jet lag."

"Jet lag?" Jack raised his eyebrows and sat down on the couch, the phone balanced between shoulder and ear.

"Uhuh." She yawned again. "We got back from Russia last night."

"And…what were you doing in Russia?" Jack asked, though he was sure that he could already guess the answer.

"Classified."

Yep.

"So…hey…I was just calling to see if you wanted to go get some coffee or something." Jack said. "But if you're too tired…"

"No that sounds great actually."

"Excellent. So how about that little place across from the movie theater downtown? How long do you need to get ready?"

"Give me a little bit, I'm still in my PJ's," Sam said, chuckling. "Let's say eleven?"

"M'kay, see you then."

Twenty minutes later Jack was walking into the coffee shop. Sam wasn't there yet so he bought a cup of coffee and headed over to an empty table to sit down. She came in a minute later, got her own drink and walked over to him. Up close she looked even more tired than she'd sounded over the phone.

"Busy week?" Jack asked, tilting his head to one side.

Sam nodded slowly. "Yeah. Rough one."

"How're Kowalski and them?"

"They're fine," Sam was staring down at her coffee mug with a gloomy expression.

Jack leaned in over the small table, reaching out to put a hand on her arm. "Sam…did something happen?"

"I'm just…" she looked up. "I'm trying to think of a way I can tell you that isn't revealing any classified info…A close friend of mine was killed a couple days ago…and…" she took in a deep breath and Jack found himself silently praying that she wasn't about to burst into tears. "And I haven't really had a chance to feel sad about it yet."

"I'm sorry, Sam…" Jack murmured, closing his fingers around hers. He squeezed her hand. "What was your friend's name?"

"Martouf…" Sam murmured, then looked up suddenly, her expression almost guilty as though she wished she hadn't told him that.

Jack gave her hand one last squeeze then let it go. "So shall we talk about something cheerful?"

"Yeah." Sam sniffed and straightened up in her chair. "How was your week?"

"Eh…pretty boring…" Jack shrugged. "I went to my son, Charlie's, baseball games on Wednesday and that was alright. My ex was there though and things got a tad awkward."

"I know how that can be," Sam said, nodding. "A man I used to be engaged to worked with us a couple years ago. Didn't really help that he was a complete lunatic."

Jack grinned in an attempt to lighten the mood. "You got a thing for crazy people, Sam?"

"Why?" she chuckled. "Are you insane or something?"

"Oh yes, I'm off the charts." Jack made a little flapping motion with one hand and got another quiet laugh out of Sam. "No…actually I'm relatively sane for a guy who used to be black ops and spent too much time in a POW camp in the Middle East."

"But you have a family though."

"Had. I had a family. Now I've got a son and an ex-wife." Jack made a face. "I'd like to have a family again, but…" His voice trailed off and he found himself staring out the window for a moment before turning back to Sam. "What?"

"Nothing I was just thinking about all the times I've tried to start a family and failed miserably."

"Heey…" Jack reached over to lightly punch her shoulder. "I thought we were going to try and talk about happy stuff."

"Oh, I guess we were…"

"You wanna see a movie or something?"

Sam shrugged. "There isn't really anything playing."

"We could go back to my place and watch…" Jack racked his brains for whatever DVD's were in his collection. "Groundhog Day or something."

"No!" Sam's eyes widened. "No Groundhog Day."

Jack raised his eyebrows. "You got something against Bill Murray?"

"No it's just that movie…uhh…" Sam shuddered then grinned. "Sorry, I'm just being weird…"

Jack opened his mouth to say something, but at that moment Sam's cell phone rang. She shot Jack an apologetic look before answering it.

"Carter…" Sam sighed heavily. "Hi, sir. Uhuh…Daniel what?!…oh, God…yeah, of course I'll be there as soon as I can," She glanced at Jack with a worried expression on her face and he gave her a sympathetic look. "No if you must know, Colonel, right now I'm at a coffee shop with Jack…yes, your Jack...sir, I'll see you in a couple minutes..." Sam clicked the phone shut and stood up, her brow furrowed as she pulled her jacket on.

"You have to go?" Jack stood up as well, looking concerned.

"Yeah...Daniel's missing..." Sam opened her mouth as though to say more, then shook her head and concentrated on buttoning her jacket.

Jack reached out to lightly touch her arm. "Jesus...I hope you find him ok...you have any idea of where he is?"

"Sort of," Sam gave him an oddly calculating look. She took his hand in hers and gave it a squeeze. "I'll give you a call when I'm back, ok?"

"Back?" Jack gave her a strange look. What was that supposed to mean? "You going somewhere?"

"Oh, uhm…" Sam stuttered. "I just meant back from the base. Back at home. Ok?"

"Yeah, sure. It was nice seeing you again."

"You too." Sam smiled lightly at him then turned and hurried out of the café.

Saturday night Sarah dropped Charlie off and Jack pulled his son into a tight embrace the moment he was through the door.

"Hey, soldier, how was your week?"

"It was great," Charlie said, good naturedly wrestling himself away from his dad. "Mom says hi and that you should call her sometime."

Jack nodded. "Ok, if I have time."

"Dad, she wants to talk to you."

"I know." Jack reached out and ruffled his son's hair. "I'll call her, ok."

Though the anxious waiting for Sam to call was always lurking in the back of Jack's mind, at least this was his week with Charlie so he could keep his mind of Sam by spending time with his son. They did the things they usually did, playing baseball, visiting museums, watching the Simpsons…but then during Thursday's episode the phone rang and Jack answered it to hear Sam on the other end, sounding a bit more cheerful than she'd been the last time they talked.

Switching to the cordless phone, Jack grinned an apology at Charlie and went into his bedroom.

"So how'd the thing with what's his name turn out?" Jack asked, sitting on his bed and leaning back against the headboard.

"Daniel? Oh it turned out alright. He's fine."

"So you're doing better now?"

"Yeah. I'm just glad this week's mess has been sorted out…the general's giving us some down time so that's nice. I've got some work I need to finish up."

Jack chuckled. "Geeze…I didn't think deep space radar telemetry could be so…intense." He could practically see Sam rolling her eyes.

"Oh, you'd be surprised."

"You want some advice, Sam?"

"Get a better cover story, right? Yeah my dad said the same thing."

They talked for another forty five minutes at least. When Jack went back out into the living room he found the television off and Charlie thumbing through a magazine.

"You finish all your homework?" Jack asked, setting the phone back in its holder.

Charlie was looking up at him suspiciously. "Uhuh. Who was that?"

"A friend."

"Anyone I know?"

Jack shook his head. "No, you haven't met her." He hated himself for saying it seconds after the 'her' left his mouth. Damn pronouns. Why did they have to have gender anyway?

"Her?" Charlie wrinkled his nose. "Aww, Dad…"

"Hey, she's just a friend, alright, kiddo? She's Kowalski's second in command." Jack saw that his son was still giving him a disgusted look. "What?"

"Dad," Charlie rolled his eyes. "Guys and girls can't just be friends. Why would they wanna be?"

Jack grinned. "So that Claire that you hang out with…"

"DaaaAAaaad!"

"Charlie, when you get older you'll find out that it's perfectly possible for guys and girls to be just friends." Jack said, sitting down on the end of the couch.

"And talk on the phone for an hour?"

"Yes."

Charlie rolled his eyes and threw the magazine sullenly down on the coffee table. "What about Mom?"

"Your mother is still a friend of mine, yes."

"That's not what I meant."

Jack sighed heavily. "Then what do you mean?"

"Are you guys going to ever get back together?"

"Charlie…" Jack looked away, across the room to the window.

"Why not?" Charlie folded his arms over his chest, scowling when Jack turned back to look at him. "You don't love her anymore, do you?"

"Charlie!" Jack snapped, involuntarily getting to his feet.

"Don't yell at me! It's the truth, you know it."

"No it's not."

"Then you do still love her?"

Jack sighed heavily, shaking his head. "That's not a question I can give a simple yes or no answer to."

Charlie pursed his lips together, staring at the floor and obviously trying hard not to cry.

"Hey there…" Jack said, the sight of his son so upset having a calming effect on him. He sat back down, reaching out to put a hand on Charlie's arm.

Charlie shrugged Jack's hand away, turning his back to him. "I'm not crying," he said resolutely.

"I know you're not," Jack said.

"I don't like this, Dad." Charlie turned back around to face Jack.

"I don't like it either," Jack said nodding. "Trust me, kiddo, if I could change it I would. But you have to trust me also when I tell you that if your mother and I tried to stay together we might just be even more miserable."

"Because you don't love each other."

Jack sighed. They'd been over this again and again ever since the first time he'd sat down with Charlie a year ago to explain what was going to happen. And each time it didn't seem to get any easier to have this discussion, whether it was in Charlie's room or the office of an attorney.

"We don't love each other the same way that we used to." Jack said as gently as possible.

Charlie sighed, wiping one hand forcefully over his eyes. "What's Mom going to say about you and this girl?"

"Just let me worry about that, ok?"

"But will you get mad if I tell her?"

"No…" Jack looked at his son seriously. "But I'd rather you not."

"Ok."

Jack ruffled Charlie's hair. "It's time for bed, soldier, you've got school tomorrow."

"Awww…"

"No moaning or groaning! Go on."

"Whatever!" Charlie stood up. "G'night, Dad."

"Night, Charlie."

Jack was a little surprised when Kowalski showed up in the early afternoon a couple days later with a case of beer.

"Yeah, we're on some downtime, I'm kinda surprised that you and Carter weren't doing anything together," he said, grinning and nudging Jack in the ribs with one elbow.

Jack scowled. "What is it with you? What is it with everyone, come to think of it. Has it become illegal for two people of the opposite sex to be friends?"

"Jack Jack Jack," Kowalski said, shaking his head and setting the beer on the kitchen table. "A guy like you is not just friends with a girl like Samantha Carter. Some might be, but not you."

"I'm going to assume for your sake that that made sense." Jack rubbed the bridge of his nose. "And do enlighten me here…why can't I just be friends with her?"

"Because you have been blessed, Colonel Jack O'Neill –"

"Retired!"

"Samantha Carter is a young, sexy woman who is totally into you. Own it."

Jack looked up at him, scowling. "Charles Kowalski that has got to be one of the most insensitive things you've ever said. Is that seriously all that you think of her as?"

"Of course not! She's a damn good second in command and I'd rather have her watching my six in combat than any of the marines –"

"Combat, when are you ever in combat?"

"Hypothetical." Kowalski waved one hand. "But my point is when your second happens to be tall and blond with a great ass –"

"Enough already!"

"Fine, fine. We won't talk about her anymore." Kowalski snuck in a smirk. "But if anything happens with you two…"

"You'll be the first to know, trust me."

"Great...now let's crack open the beer…"