Jacob is gonna kill you, the voice said as he walked into the SGC. You're sleeping with Carter. His beloved genius daughter. Going back to Ba'al would be better than what Jacob's gonna do to you.

Shut up, shut up, SHUT UP, forcryin'outloud! he said to it, sliding his I.D. card into the elevator and pressing his floor number. I don't even know if we're going to tell him. Hell, we haven't even told Hammond yet! Though… if Daniel collected on those bets…

He was cut off on that train of thought because the elevator doors opened and when he stepped out a technician took one look at him, smirked, and grinned. Smugly.

He couldn't help it. It just burst out. "Is something funny, airman?" he growled at the tech, advancing on him. "Did I miss something? Huh?"

"No- No, sir," the tech squeaked, backing away. "Sorry sir!" He fled and Jack felt minutely satisfied.

So this is what you've sunk to? Scaring poor, hapless technicians? I think he had to go take his inhaler, the voice said. Big, bad Colonel.

"Oh, shut up," he muttered to himself, going into the briefing room.

"Jack!" Jacob Carter was smiling at him from his seat at the table. "We were beginning to think you'd never get here. Apparently George wants to talk about something before we start the meeting."

His eyes went directly to Carter. He gave her a 'You didn't' look. She avoided eye contact and started humming. Humming, forcryin'outloud.

"Oh, geez," he said, sinking into the seat at the head, between Hammond and Teal'c.

"Are you well, O'Neill?" Teal'c said.

"I am. Sorta. Let's just get this over with, shall we?" he said, looking at Hammond and clapping his hands together.

"I suppose we shall," the General said, looking vaguely amused. He cleared his throat. "Jacob, this morning Major Carter handed in her resignation from this post and her request to sever from the Air Force."

Jacob's jaw dropped. "What?!" He turned to his daughter. "Sam, why? If you quit the SGC-"

"Luckily, she doesn't have to," Hammond said. "I've offered her a position as head of our research department and will keep her on as the resident scientist on SG-1."

Jacob now looked more confused than shocked. "But, if she's just going to do what she's been doing, why leave the Air-" He broke off, catching Sam's tiny, almost non-existent glance at Jack. His jaw dropped again, and not in a good way. "Oh, no."

"Now, Jacob," Hammond said, "I've heard her out and her reasons are, well, reasonable. I think you should really sit down and listen to them-"

But Jacob wasn't listening. He'd stood up and was going around the table to where Jack was sitting. Jack leapt from his chair and moved to keep Teal'c in between them. "Now, Jacob, don't kill me till you've heard me out!"

"Hear you out? Hear you out? I'll tell you what I'm going to do, I'm going to ream you ou-" This time he broke off because Selmak took over. "I am sorry for Jacob's behavior, even if he is not," the symbiote said. He went back and sat down. "Please, continue. Jacob is listening."

"Uh, right," Jack said, sitting down. Ha! Saved by the snake, the voice snickered at him. Ah, poetic justice! "Well, y'see, I'm kinda in love with Carter. Sam," he corrected himself. "And I have been for, well, honestly? I've been in love with her for years." He winced inwardly as he remembered the SFs in the corner and just knew they'd be the talk of the locker room for weeks.

Selmak looked distant for a moment and then focused back on him. "This is… agreeable to Jacob. Though he says that he would like to state, for the record, that if you harm Samantha, 'they will never find all of your body'. I would like to state that I must agree with this statement." He gave Jack a meaningful look. Jack nodded.

"Fair enough." Thank God this is over. Now they all know; that's the hard part.

"So Jack," Jacob said – Selmak having relinquished control once he saw Jacob wasn't going to murder Jack. "What, exactly, are you intentions towards my daughter?"

Jack had been taking a much-needed drink of water. But at Jacob's words, he sprayed it all over the table. "Excuse me?" he sputtered.

"Your intentions," Jacob said again, "towards my daughter."

"Dad!" Carter said. "Stop it! Leave Colonel- Jack alone!" She glanced at Jack. "Sorry. Force of habit."

"S'fine, Carter." He coughed again, and Teal'c slapped him on the back a few times. "I think I need to go lie down."

"After the meeting, Colonel," Hammond said, smiling in a way Jack found unnecessarily cruel.

Thankfully, the rest of the briefing had nothing to do with him, Sam, or them in conjugation. He zoned out when the Carters brought out their finest arsenal of techno-babble (he understood most of it; he just didn't like to listen to it unless it was just his Carter talking – when her dad was at it with her it was a little creepy).

As he was coming out of the briefing – Daniel had left earlier because of some "translation emergency" (he couldn't figure that one out – if it had been there for three million years, what was the hurry to translate it now?) – he saw the aforementioned archaeologist grinning smugly at the gate technician-dialer-guy – what was his name? Jack always forgot – who was placing bills in Daniel's outstretched hand.

Oh, I will have my revenge, he thought, as Daniel flashed him a particularly smug look. It will be sweet, too.

That's the spirit! the voice said. He got the distinct impression it was eating popcorn.

"Hey, T!" he said, jogging a bit to catch up with the Jaffa.

"O'Neill." Teal'c inclined his head. They'd long since learned it was Teal'c version of… well, insert any obnoxious Earth greeting involving copious amounts of exclamation points. "What is 'up'?"

"Well, I was wonderin' if you remembered the chick who beat Daniel up?"

"The woman from the Prometheus?" Teal'c raised the Eyebrow of Inquisitiveness.

Jack nodded. "Yeahsureyoubetcha. Whatever her name was." He grinned. "Feel like goin' and trackin' her down for me? Bring her back, maybe?"

"I am unsure as to your intentions, O'Neill," Teal'c said. "For what purpose would it serve to bring her to the SGC?"

"I was thinking Daniel needs to make some new friends," Jack said, carefully keeping his voice neutral. Teal'c's face acquired as close to a smirk as it ever did.

"I believe I understand you, O'Neill," he said. "I am to visit Ry'ac soon. Perhaps I shall seek this woman out while I am offworld."

"That's all I'm askin' big guy." Jack glanced at his watch. "Ah, gotta go catch Carter. See you later!"

He skidded to a stop in front of Carter's lab. To his shock and amazement, she was packing it up. "Carter!"

She jumped and then glared at him. "Don't do that."

"Sorry." He paused and she raised her eyebrows at him. "Oh, right. What're you doing, packin' up your lab?"

She grinned. "As head of the research department, I get a bigger lab. I'm moving to it today."

"Oh. Sweet." He grinned back at her.

"Not to try and kick you out, sir, but aren't you supposed to be in a meeting with General Hammond right now?"

"I am?"

"He said something about it. Right as you… ran out the door." She laughed. "I guess you didn't hear him. You'd better get up there, sir."

"Right. See you later, Carter."

"Count on it, sir." She gave him one of those mega-watt smiles he loved and he went back to Hammond's office and knocked on the door.

"Sir?"

"Come in, Jack. Sit down." General Hammond looked at him, arms crossed across his chest and leaning back in his chair.

Jack sat. "Sir?"

"Jack, what were you thinking?" Hammond said. "Getting involved with Major Carter? Without telling me? Without leave?"

Aw, crap, he thought. I thought I wouldn't have to hear this speech.

He drew a breath. "Well, sir…"