Jack walked up to the General's office, his heart somewhat heavy. He loved his work with SG1, and was more than reluctant to have that end. But he also realized the importance of his future with Grace...and with Sam.

He smiled briefly as he thought about her. She'd tried to convince him that she wasn't tired, and that she could sit with Grace as he went up to speak to General Hammond. Of course, he knew better. So, he convinced her to let Daniel babysit while she took a brief nap.

He walked down the corridor leading to the General's office, and knocked on the door.

"Come in." The General invited.

Jack took a deep breath before walking inside.

"Jack!" Hammond greeted with a small smile. "Nice to see you. How's our guest?"

"Grace is fine, sir." He said, quickly. "Thank you for asking."

"Have a seat." The older man invited.

"No, thank you, sir."

"Getting down to business again, are you, Jack?" George asked with a twinkle in his eye.

Jack smiled appreciatively. "Life's so short, I don't see much point in beating around the bush."

"What's on your mind, son?"

Jack had long since gotten over the condescension that the endearment could imply. He was only five years George Hammond's junior, after all. But he had quickly realized that the term was a way for the general to show an appropriate sliver of paternal affection for the officers under his command. So, instead of reacting, he inhaled deeply and began. "General Hammond, I want you to know that I've learned much under your command, and appreciated everything you've done for me and my team over the years."

"But," the General prompted.

Jack gave a wry smile. He was so transparent, wasn't he? "I believe it's time for me to tender my resignation."

"You're not even sixty, Jack. Why do you think it's time to retire?"

Jack's eyes grew solemn. "Because there's a little girl in the infirmary who's already lost one set of parents, and if at all possible, I want to keep that from happening again."

"You want custody of Grace?"

"I'm not sure how it will all play out, but I think it would be best if either Carter or I took custody of her." He said, nodding.

"Because you were her parents in an alternate reality."

Jack sighed. "I don't pretend to know how it all works, but I do know that Grace has been through a lot, and deserves to grow up in a stable home. And I'd like the freedom to do everything I can possibly think of to make that happen."

"A stable home, Jack?" George asked, raising an eyebrow.

He shrugged. "If there's one thing I've learned here at the SGC, it's that you never know what the future holds, General. If you'd asked me ten years ago if I'd be traveling through the galaxy and interacting with scientists and aliens on a regular basis, I would have thought you were crazy. But here I am, having done it for the better part of seven years."

"Well, I wish you the best, Jack." The General said, honestly. "Even if I am certain that the SGC won't be the same without you."

"Thank you, sir."

"You're welcome, Jack."

Jack walked toward the door before he heard the general once again. "Jack?"

"Yes, sir?" He asked, turning back to the man behind the desk.

"Take care of her."

"I don't know if I'm going to get custody of Grace, sir."

"I wasn't talking about her." The general said with a twinkle in his eye.

Jack smiled bashfully. "I don't know what you're talking about, sir." He said, trying to keep a straight face.

"I'm sure you don't." George chuckled. "I'll get the necessary paperwork through to Washington anyway."

Leaving the General's office, Jack couldn't help but wonder what the General meant.

--

Sam walked into the infirmary, feeling a great deal better rested.

"How are you feeling?" Jack asked, approaching the infirmary at the same time as she was.

"Better, thank you." She said, trying to look professional. She didn't want to appear too eager in case some rumors had been circulated about them. She was also hoping that by keeping her reaction from being over the top, she'd protect herself from a broken heart if it didn't work.

"By the way, Plan A seems to be working." He said, cryptically.

Her heart pounded in excitement.

"But first priority is getting Grace home and into a permanent living arrangement." He looked at her softly. "With you or me."

She nodded.

"Anyway, I think we've got Hammond's support. For all aspects of our plan."

"All of them?" She asked, looking at him in surprise.

He shrugged. "He's the base commander. There's very little that gets past him when it comes to his front line team."

She chuckled. "You've got a point there."

"Anyway, things are going smoothly, and I would be very surprised if they didn't continue that way."

"That's good." She said, relaxing a little.

"No kidding." He agreed. They walked in silence for a little bit before Jack looked at her. "Shall we find our little girl?"

"Our little girl." She said with a soft smile. "I like the sound of that."

"Me too." He admitted.

"Jack. Sam." Daniel said, walking over. "I'm glad I found you guys."

"What's wrong?" Sam asked, her heart lurching as she wondered if Grace was okay.

"Grace went to sleep while you were gone. A few minutes ago, she started crying out for you two."

Jack and Sam hurried as fast as they could to Grace's room.

"Mommy!" She cried, holding her arms out to Sam.

Sam gathered the little girl up into her arms as naturally as if she'd given birth to the young girl, and received that reaction from her for years. "Sh." She whispered as she rocked her. "You're going to be fine." She whispered softly. "We're here. You'll be just fine."

Jack was only more convinced that Grace needed him and Sam equally. And he was determined to give her that much at least.