Chapter 6: Life is Like a Box of Loopholes

In his time as commander of the SGC, Jack had learned to loath the stacks of mission folders that would inevitably pile up on his desk any time he turned his back for more than five minutes. He'd spent the entire morning reviewing mission reports, commenting on them, and sending them on their merry way to be filed off in some storage room. All of this put him in a rather grumpy mood, so he responded harshly when someone knocked on his office door.

"Come."

"Are you busy?" Sam stuck her head in.

"Yes, as a matter-" Jack looked up and saw who it was. "Oh, Carter, come in." he looked despairingly at the mission folders. "I'm actually quite happy for an excuse to stop."

"So…" Sam sat down. "I just wanted to apologize for ignoring you yesterday…"

Jack waved his hand dismissively. "Carter, it's ok. We all have days like that."

"I broke up with Pete."

"I know," Jack said quietly, nodding. "Teal'c told me."

There was a long silence through which Jack and Sam just stared at each other across the desk.

"Yesterday," Jack said, clearing his throat, "I sent a letter to Hammond, letting him know that I was retiring. He, however, being the dear old friend that he is, pushed some buttons. The government decided that valuable as I am to the program, I'd be more than fit to be a civilian commander." He chuckled, sounding rather pleased with himself.

"They're actually letting you get away with that, sir?" Sam asked, raising her eyebrows.

"Yep, so you can loose the 'sir', Carter." Jack grinned at her. "This government is founded on the assumption that there'll always be a handy loophole here when you need it." Sam laughed, and Jack gave her a sideways look before continuing. "Anyway, Hammond's stopping by later today, did you know that?"

"I didn't."

"Yeah, I thought we could have a little reception party for him in the briefing room," Jack said thoughtfully. "You know…wine…cake…remembrances of the old days when you were still a wee little captain puking from your first trip through the gate…"

Sam was sorely tempted to throw the model airplane at Jack, but the grin on his face was far too contagious.

"Well, Jack, I have to say you're doing a great job of running the place," Hammond said appreciatively. They were sitting in Jack's office after the party, and the former commander of the SGC was looking rather comfortable back in his old surroundings.

"I don't think I could ever take your place completely, General."

Hammond chuckled. "Oh, I don't know about that. Anyway, I wanted to talk to you about this whole retirement thing."

"It's still going through, isn't it?" Jack's eyes widened slightly.

"It is," Hammond assured him with a nod. "And I've made my guesses on why it is you're doing this, but I just wanted to know if I've guessed correctly." His eyes sparkled. "It's about Colonel Carter, isn't it?"

"Oh fer cryin' out loud! Am I that readable?" Jack cried, leaning back in his chair suddenly. "First Danny and T, now you. Has the president guessed it too?"

"Not to my knowledge, no. But Jack," Hammond was suddenly serious again. "I hope you know what you're getting into. You and Colonel Carter are two of the most prized and respected members of this establishment…you won't be able to keep this on the low down and eyebrows will be raised."

"Yeah well, the people round here need to learn to grow up. It's not like I'm doing regular field work anymore or anything." Jack sighed heavily, running his hands over his face. "I know I know, I'll have to be harder on her than the rest, nothing that'll look like I'm showing favoritism. I've got it, George."

"Good." Hammond smiled, then glanced down at his watch. "I'd better be going, my transport back to the airport will be here shortly." He and Jack shook hands. "It was nice seeing you again Jack, and I hope everything goes smoothly."

"Thanks, nice seeing you too."

Before leaving, Hammond turned and gave Jack a questioning look. "By the way, what does Jacob think of all this?"

"Haven't talked to him yet," Jack said, grinning sheepishly. "But he's due to come in and have another conference with us about this new goa'uld that's shown up, so I'll probably talk to him then."

"Good."

"Great," Sam said, leaning back in her chair as her father finished telling them about how Jupiter was slowly encroaching on planets along the outer edge of the galaxy. "So this new goa'uld is trying to take over the galaxy and…Dad I need to talk to you."

Jacob looked surprised. "What? Sam…we're in the middle of a briefing."

"Actually," Jack looked around. "I think we're done here. So you two run along."

"Jack," Sam gave him a meaningful look.

"What? Oh…" Jack suddenly found it very difficult to look Jacob in the eye. Slowly standing up he motioned for the two to follow him. "Step into my office, Carters."

As the three left the room, Daniel and Teal'c exchanged a look, and settled back in their chairs at the briefing table to watch the scene through the window in Jack's office.

Jacob turned around, eyeing his daughter and Jack standing shoulder to shoulder. "Why am I getting déjà vu here?"

Sam shifted nervously from foot to foot. Jacob looked at them both expectantly.

"Okkkayyy, I definitely do not like awkward silences," Jack said finally, clapping his hands together.

Suddenly Ahmnen spoke out. "My host is wondering whether or not he can trust you with his daughter."

"Jacob!" Jack put a hand to his chest in mock offense. "I'm hurt! I've only been watching her six for the past seven years."

"Actually I think that's the other way around," Sam corrected.

"No, Carter," Jack muttered out of the corner of his mouth. "I have most definitely been watching your ass for the past seven years."

"Jack I may be old but I still have perfectly good hearing!" Jacob snapped, folding his arms. He got an odd expression on his face, then shook his head. "Sorry, Ahmnen's making fun of this whole thing."

Jack looked at him expectantly. "Well?" He slipped an arm around Sam's waist, drawing her closer to him.

As Jacob watched, Sam turned and gave Jack the briefest of smiles. In that small fraction of a second her eyes shone with something that he'd never seen there before. Jacob smiled, convinced that his little girl had found her happy ending…

A/N – …Except not really, because there's a sequel coming, and definitely more after that. A brief glance into the crystal ball (aka, the outline I've been working diligently on) shows…An irritable God-King, a death sentence, more over cooked steaks, little O'Neill babies and other shippyness. So keep your eyes open for "The Courtship of Sam Carter", the next installment in the epic "Threads of My Wings" series/serial thing.