Jack pulled up in front of Sam's house and turned the car off. Turning in his seat, he observed Sam for a few minutes. Her head rested on the window and her eyes were closed. Laying a gentle hand on her shoulder, he shook her lightly.

"Carter, wake up," he called softly.

Startled, Sam's eyes flew open and she sat up straight in her seat. "Sir?" she questioned, rubbing her eyes tiredly.

"We're at your place," he told her. "Last I saw, the special forces team was really going to town on your circuit box. Want me to come in with you and see what we can do about it?" he offered.

"Thanks sir," Sam replied with a smile. "Not that it'll make a difference if everything electrical in my house is fried from the power surge that must have occurred after the gate shut off," she added with false levity.

"It's still worth a shot," Jack asserted as he got out of the truck. "Besides," he continued as he shut the door. "I know for sure that your toaster wasn't fried by a power surge."

"No," Sam stated simply. "Instead it was dismantled to build a mini-stargate."

"I take that to mean you'd noticed before you left," Jack joked as he opened the tailgate of his truck and pulled out two flashlights. "Let's take a look," he said positively as Sam shut the tailgate again.

As the two walked up the path to Sam's house, Jack handed her a flashlight. Approaching the house, the full extent of the damage became apparent. The front door was wide open and hanging from one hinge. All glass that could be seen from the front of the house was smashed and both Sam and Jack expected that to hold true throughout the rest of the house. Clicking on their flashlights as they entered the darkened hallway, they surveyed the damage to the interior. Furniture was overturned; holes gaped at them from every wall as well as the floor and ceiling. Everything that could be smashed was and the couch was ripped open. A steady drip could be heard from one corner of the room – one of many pipes that had been punctured by the special forces team.

"You do realize you're not staying here, right?" Jack asked quietly as he watched Sam take in the total destruction of her house.

"It's not a problem, sir," she argued in a lost voice. "It doesn't bother me."

"Liar," Jack declared knowingly. "And even if the broken pipes, torn open walls, lack of power and absence of anything to sleep in or on didn't convince me not to let you stay here, the fact that the door won't close, let alone lock, and your windows are helping to make it very easy for anybody to waltz on in did."

"But…" Sam began.

"No buts," he interrupted, holding up his hand to silence her. "You're staying at my place. Ah!" he cried as she opened her mouth to argue. "No arguments Major, or else I'll make it an order."

"Sir, I can't ask you to…"

"You're not asking – I'm offering," Jack clarified. "Let's go!"

"I should at least shut off the water," Sam argued, knowing she couldn't win and that if she argued, she would find herself hanging upside down over her commanding officer's shoulders, on her way out to his truck. "Try to stop the leaks."

"Uh… The water was shut off just after they got down in your basement. As far as I know, they didn't turn it back on."

"Oh," Sam replied, then, "I really don't want to get any bills for this month."

"Let's go," Jack said gently. "I'll call Hammond from the car and have him send some people over to keep an eye on this place."

"What's the point?" Sam asked dejectedly as Jack led her towards the door. "There's nothing here worth taking. Everything's ruined and none of it is worth fixing."

"It's just stuff, Carter," Jack soothed as they stepped outside. "It can be replaced."

"Did they go up in the attic?" Sam asked, suddenly stopping on the edge of the porch.

"Yeah, I think so," Jack replied slowly. "Why?"

"No reason," Sam said hurriedly, her voice choked. Seeing the scepticism in Jack's eyes, she decided to tell him the truth; it's not like he was buying her white lie anyway. "My mother's wedding dress is up there," she informed him, blinking back tears. "Dad gave it to me after he joined the Tok'ra; I was supposed to keep it safe."

"It'll still be there tomorrow," he said quietly, sliding his arm around her shoulders. "Let's just be glad you weren't in there somewhere when they came in. We can replace all your stuff, but we can't replace you," he reminded, giving her shoulders a gentle squeeze to emphasize his point.

"Sorry about all this, sir," Sam said quietly as he opened the passenger door for her.

"Don't be sorry," he instructed.

"I appreciate everything you've done these last few weeks…" she ploughed on determinedly. "I know I'm a lot more trouble than I'm worth. Thanks for putting up with me," Sam tried to joke lightly as she buckled her seatbelt, but he caught the undertone of sincerity that managed to creep through.

"Let's get a few things straight," Jack said abruptly, turning her head so she was looking him in the eye. "I don't 'put up with you'. I care about you and because I care, I try to help. Driving you home, having you stay with me – that's not me putting up with you, okay?"

"Yes sir," Sam replied mechanically.

"Second, you are not more trouble than you're worth. You're worth a lot more than this… A million times this, maybe," he feigned pausing thoughtfully for a moment, glad when he succeeded in making her smile. "You seem to forget that you've got friends who care about you. When we do things for you, it's us trying to be good friends. Whenever me or Daniel or Teal'c or a thousand other people need something, you're first in line waiting to give it to us. When we try to do the same for you, you act like you're asking too much of us. We want to help you – will you let us?" he asked, holding her gaze.

"Yes sir."

"No – drop the 'sir', Sam. I'm being your friend, not your CO."

"Sorry."

"If I hear you apologize one more time tonight, I'm tying you to the roof racks and driving up to Denver. Don't think I won't," he threatened teasingly.

"I know you too well to think you're kidding," Sam replied with a smile. "Thank you, I needed to hear that," she added more seriously.

"I know," Jack said leaning in to kiss her on the forehead. "Let's call Daniel and Teal'c," he said as he pulled back and shut her door.

Walking around to his side of the truck, Jack opened the door in time to hear Sam ask why they were calling the others.

"We never hang out – pizza and Star Wars," Jack said with a grin.