Jack walked around to the passenger side of the truck and opened the door for Carter. As he held out his arms to her, he felt the same thrill he had felt earlier when he had helped her into the truck. They both knew, of course, that she didn't need his help. It was a gift from her to him, and a chance to celebrate, even if in only a very small way, their newly discovered relationship.

Carter smiled knowingly up at him as, after lifting her down, his hands lingered on her waist a moment longer than absolutely necessary. He returned her smile. "Ready?" he asked.

"As I'll ever be," she answered, looking towards the hotel apprehensively.

Jack slipped his arm around her waist – God, it felt right holding her like that – and together they crossed the parking lot. As they entered the hotel lobby, an attractive middle aged man stood up from the winged-back chair he had been waiting in and crossed the lobby towards them.

Carter saw him heading their way and moved to meet him. "Mark, hi!" The siblings hugged, and Jack was relieved at the naturalness of the embrace.

Pete Shanahan was a friend of Mark and, despite Carter's reassurances that Mark had seemed to accept her decision to break off the engagement, he was still concerned that Mark might resent Jack's intrusion into what, to Mark, must have seemed the perfect relationship. Add to that possible suspicions about the nature and length of her relationship with her commanding officer and Jack would be disappointed in Mark if he wasn't at least a bit concerned.

Hell, Jack knew if it had been himself in Mark's shoes he would have already begun the interrogation process.

Carter broke off the hug and turned to make introductions. "Mark, this is Jack O'Neill. Jack, my brother, Mark."

Jack stuck his hand out and waited. Not surprisingly, considering who his father was, Mark looked Jack straight in the eye before accepting the unspoken invitation, a clear challenge in those familiarly blue eyes. Mark asked, "It's General O'Neill, right?"

"Just Jack, here." Mark seemed to accept that answer, at least for the moment, and shook Jack's hand with his own. Carter exhaled slowly next to him, and Jack realized she had been holding her breath waiting for Mark's response.

"Well, Jack," Mark released Jack's hand. "I must admit I didn't expect to see you here. I thought you were in charge of Sam's unit up there under the mountain somewhere." His tone was icy as he added, "Don't you have important general stuff you should be doing?"

Jack caught Samantha's eye. He winked at her and she gave him a quick smile in response. Turning back to Mark, he replied, "Nothing more important than this."

Mark could not have missed the exchange, and his eyes narrowed appraisingly as he looked first at his sister and then back to Jack. Making up his mind, his face finally broke into a tentative smile. "Then it's nice to meet you, Jack." Mark motioned towards the interior of the hotel. "Come on, Kristen and the kids are by the pool. The kids have been waiting for their aunt to watch them swim." He looked significantly at Jack, "We can talk while they play."

Carter looked anxiously at Jack. He smiled, reassuring her. If Mark wanted to talk, he was ready. He had nothing to hide, at least, not from Mark and his family.

------------------------------------------

Mark hadn't known what to expect of General Jack O'Neill, and he still wasn't sure what he had found. In his experience, Air Force generals were not nearly as relaxed as Jack seemed to be. He couldn't imagine his father taking off from work to help a friend plan a funeral. Granted, from what Sam had said, Jack was now more than a mere friend, but still –

He glanced back over at the older man walking next to him. Sam walked on the other side of Jack, not quite touching him. Mark couldn't help but wonder how long they had had to practice walking next to each other as closely as possible without actually touching. He guessed, if they had really been working together for years, that it must have been a long time indeed.

Which was his biggest concern, really? Why now? Why now, when Jacob had just died, did Sam feel the need to make all these major changes in her life? Still, there had been something in the way the two had looked at each other, some understanding flashing unspoken between them -- Sam had been closer to their father than he had been himself, despite their reconciliation. She had been a wreck last night when they had first met to discuss Jacob's death. Today she had actually smiled. If Jack O'Neill was responsible for that change in her, then Mark was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. At least until he had the chance to sit the man down and have a few words with him in private.

They arrived at the swimming pool. Jack opened the pool room door for Sam – and she let him do it! Yes, his little sister was definitely changing.

Their arrival was immediately noted by the two children splashing in the water. Pulling themselves out of the pool, Mike and Mandy rushed over to greet their aunt and her new friend. "Aunt Sam! Aunt Sam!"

Mark's wife, Kristen, sprang to her feet from where she'd been sitting at a poolside table. "Kids! Don't run on the deck!"

Mike and Mandy immediately slowed down, almost to a walk. Sam rushed forward to greet them, "Hi, guys." When they threatened to drench her clothes with their hugs, she put her arms up in defense, "Whoa! Wait a minute!"

Kristen caught up to them and wrapped the two kids in white hotel towels. Thus protected, Sam grabbed both kids at once in a giant wiggling hug. She released them to make introductions as Mark and Jack joined them. "Jack, this is my sister-in-law, Kristen. Kristen, Jack O'Neill."

"We work together at Cheyenne Mountain," Jack explained as he shook Kristen's hand.

Kristen shot her husband a concerned look. Mark nodded, letting her know everything was okay. Relieved, she turned back to her sister-in-law and Jack. "Actually, we've heard a lot about you."

"Really?" Jack shot a look at Sam. "All good?"

Kristen smiled, "Yes. Jacob thought very highly of you, as a matter of fact."

Jack returned her smile, "And I of him" Then he added, more gently and seriously, "I'll miss him. He was a good friend."

Mark felt himself liking Jack still more for his obvious sincerity. "Hey, kids," he suggested, "Why don't you take your aunt over to the pool and show her some of your moves?"

Sam looked quickly from Mark to Jack. At Jack's nod, she smiled down at her niece and nephew. "Come on, guys, show me what ya got." Taking each of their hands in one of her own, she let them lead her to the water with Kristen following behind.

Mark motioned to a table near the pool. "Have a seat?" Jack nodded, and the two men sat down together.

They sat for a long moment watching Mandy and Mike swim. Finally, Jack looked Mark straight in the eyes and asked, "So, you have questions, right?" Mark was startled – though not displeased -- at the man's directness. Jack smiled, obviously noting his surprise. "Hell, I know I would if it were my sister."

"I just don't want to see her get hurt. This – you and her – it's so sudden."

Jack seemed amused by his word choice. "I can tell you 'sudden' is the one thing its not." He grew serious as he continued, "Mark, Sam and I have been in love with each other for years."

"Then why –"

"The Air Force."

"Ah." Mark understood, almost. He had been born into, and raised in, the Air Force. From his perspective, it was the cause of most of the terrible things in his life, from his mother's death to his father's aloofness. The one thing he couldn't understand, though, was why people let it ruin their lives. Why they put up with the bullshit instead of simply leaving.

Jack must have seen something on his face, because he explained further, "I was her commanding officer. It wouldn't have been appropriate. And due to – circumstances – neither of us could really leave, either."

"And now? Aren't you still her CO?"

"Things have changed. I can't go into more details, but I can promise you what I promised Samantha. I will never hurt your sister, Mark, and I will always be there for her when she needs me."

Mark looked into Jack's face for several seconds, studying what he found there. He had never seen a man look more intense than Jack looked at that moment, but as he watched, a hint of amusement came into Jack's eyes and the older man's mouth turned up at the corners. "What?" Mark asked.

Jack allowed himself a full smile at the question. "Sorry, Mark. It's that, when you looked at me that way – You have no idea the number of times I've seen that exact same expression on Carter's face as she analyzed some strange new deep space data. I've just never been the data before."

Mark couldn't help smiling in return. There was no doubt in his mind that Jack was serious, at least in his love for Sam. "So," Mark asked, "what are your plans?" It was the closest he could come to 'what are your intentions?' without sounding trite.

Jack understood. As he looked out towards where Sam crouched at the side of the pool, splashing water at Mike and Mandy, his brown eyes softened. "I'm not going to let her go, Mark," he said simply. "I plan to marry your sister just as soon as she'll have me."

It was the answer Mark had expected and, to his surprise, he realized that even after seeing Jack and Sam together for only a short period, it was the answer he'd wanted to hear.