A/N Sorry, this chapter's a bit short, but the conclusion (tomorrow) will be a bit longer :)
"Carter, are you sure you don't want to join us?" Jack called out from the kitchen. Sam pulled back the curtain and sighed. The snow was still coming down pretty hard. She'd joined Janet and Cassie in the morning for breakfast, and had somehow gotten roped into driving Cassie over to Jack's for the afternoon. All of SG1, and especially Sam, had been trying to spend a lot of time lately with the young girl to help her adjust to her new life on Earth. Cassie seemed to be bonding well with Janet, but they figured if they could help keep her busy they'd both help her learn more about her new world and help keep her distracted from the devastating losses she'd experienced on Hanka. So far, their plan seemed to be working, and Cassie had been so excited to have an afternoon with Jack that Sam couldn't bring herself to refuse to drive her. That and the fact that Janet still had an aversion to driving in the snow, even after living in Colorado for over a decade, had her also begging Sam to drive. Her pleading on top of Cassie's had been more than Sam could take, which is how she came to find herself driving way out of her way to stop off at her CO's house on a Saturday afternoon.
"I don't know. I think maybe I should get going, Sir. I had a little trouble with the Volvo on the way over here."
Jack poked his head into the family room. "All the more reason to stay, Carter." He smiled. "C'mon it'll be fun! We're just gonna hang out, have some hot chocolate and play some board games. Besides," he wheedled, "we're only supposed to get a couple more inches; if you wait a bit, it'll stop. This way you'll give the salt trucks time to catch up."
"I don't know…" Sam said, still looking out the window. At that moment a car passing by lost control, swinging around in an arc, narrowly missing the tree at the edge of the neighbors yard. Sam watched as they slowly struggled to reorient themselves before continuing down the icy road. "You know what? That actually sounds good." She smiled and let the curtain drop. Her rear-wheeled drive Volvo had never been very good in the snow anyway.
—
Eight hours and fourteen inches of non-stop snow later, Sam and Jack sat on the couch, watching through the living room windows as the snow continued to fall. Cassie lay asleep next to them, worn out from an afternoon of games and laughter. Sam shook her head. "So much for your theory about two more inches!" The snow drifts were impressive, and to make it worse, snow was still coming down steadily.
"Sorry, Carter." Jack shrugged. "I'm not a weatherman. That's just what they said on TV." He gently eased himself up, trying not to wake Cassie. "Did you at least have a good day?" He looked at her.
Sam smiled up at him. "Yeah, you know what, I did. Even though you guys didn't provide much competition in scrabble."
Jack smiled back. "Yeah, well, you know Cassie's still learning to spell here. You can't expect too much yet."
Sam grinned, "well, that explains Cassie…"
Jack just laughed. "I think we should get this little one to the guest room." Jack leaned down and scooped Cassie into his arms. Sam stood up to join them, moving into Jack's personal space to lean over and give Cassie a quick kiss goodnight.
"How about you," Sam looked up, still absently stroking Cassie's hair as she asked gently, "did you have a good day?"
Jack looked down over the sleeping child in his arms and then at Sam. Her cheeks were flushed from the hot cocoa and the heat of the fire, and her eyes were bright. Her face was softened in relaxation and glowed in the firelight. "Yeah," he said softly, communicating the depth of his sincerity with his eyes. "Yeah, I really did."
Sam held his gaze, startled by what she saw there. She'd seen Jack in all sorts of moods - everything from calm and decisive to powerful and fierce. But this was new. Never had she seen him so relaxed, so happy, and so open. It was a whole new side of him, and one that she found she liked quite a lot. Probably more than she should, if she was being honest with herself. Just as she was starting to realize how close she still was to Jack and that she was probably staring, Jack said softly, "Thanks, Carter, for staying." He smiled warmly at her, and Sam felt her insides flip. As Jack turned away to carry Cassie to the guest room, Sam stood rooted to the spot, staring after him, her heart racing.
Oh boy, she was so screwed.