"I don't believe this Dad!" Sam cried out at her father.

"Sweetheart, I've been up all night trying to convince them to put this off. They're insistent that I leave with them now or not to return again. If I don't go, our alliance- which is already fragile, as you know- will suffer greatly."

"What is this mission anyways?" Jack asked, really hoping that the Tok'ra weren't trying to rope SG1 into this as well.

"I'm infiltrating one of Baal's compounds…this could take at the very least a few months."

"Months!" Sam's eyes seemed to bug out of her head. "And just how long have you known this mission was coming up Dad?" Jacob didn't respond. "So this visit here, was this some kind of goodbye? Don't you think I had the right to know?"

"Sammy, please. I was planning on telling you. I thought I would be here well past Christmas, New Years, and just the whole holiday season. I just wanted to get in some quality time with you." Jacob reached for Sam's hand. At first she pulled it away from him, but his grip was pretty firm, and she gave in, letting out a giant sigh.

"Will there be any way to contact you while you're gone?" Daniel asked.

"I'm afraid not," Jacob said solemnly.

"Sir, I need to get some things together in my lab," Sam stood up, giving General Hammond her best pleading look, without looking too pathetic. Like all the men in the room he couldn't say no.

"Permission granted Major."

"Thank you sir. Dad, please come find me before you leave."

"You know I will." Sam turned sharply and briskly strode out the room before the tears could come.

xxxxx

"Jack, I'd like to talk with you," Jacob stepped into his office.

"Come to say goodbye?"

"I want to know what's going on with you and my daughter," Jacob had a bit of a menacing look on his face that caused Jack to tighten up.

"What are you talking about?"

"I'm not a fool Jack. I know she cares about you way more than she is supposed to and will ever admit to me. But the fact of the matter is that she does feel this way, and I want to make sure you don't hurt her."

"I would NEVER do anything to hurt Carter, and you know that."

"I hope you're right Jack, because a father can sense these things, and I'll know, even from across the galaxy, if you've done something wrong." Jacob paused and looked at Jack's nervous face. "And I won't hesitate to return and make you suffer," Jacob let out an evil smile, patting Jack on the shoulder. "Be good."

"Yeah, uh, thanks. Tell Baal I say hi."

xxxxx

"Goodbye Dad. I love you," Sam sniffed in some tears as she hugged her father.

"Try not to worry about me kiddo. I'll be fine. I love you too," Jacob kissed his daughter on the forehead and headed towards the gate. He waved goodbye to George and the other members of SG1. By the time he had stepped through the gate Sam was running down the corridors before anybody could see her looking so vulnerable.

xxxxx

Sam sat in her lab feeling very much alone. She hated seeing her father disappear back through the wormhole, into the unknown, for far too many months. She had no idea when she would see him again, or even if she would see him again. There was always that possibility with the Tok'ra. Tears started to fall, and suddenly Sam was gasping for air. I'm crying she realized. Sobbing actually. Maybe even convulsing. Okay convulsing is a strong word, but whatever it was, Sam hadn't cried this way in a very long time. She didn't hear the knock at her door, or it subsequently opening.

Jack walked in to see Sam in pieces. Oh man he thought. It was usually Daniel's job to comfort Sam after Jacob left. Where the hell was the guy? Jack took a deep breath and walked over to Sam. "Are you alright?" Ugh, what a stupid question.

"Not really…" Sam struggled to say between sobs.

"C'mere." Jack sat down and pulled Sam into his arms. She buried her face in his chest, drenching his shirt with her tears.

"It's just not fair. I hate that he has to leave me each time! Why can't he just stay? Why?" Sam looked up at Jack, her eyes wide and still flooded by tears. Jack gently wiped her cheeks.

"I think you know the answer."

"I do! I just hate it! I hate the Tokra!" Sam pounded at Jack's chest and then buried her face again.

"Just think, if it wasn't for them he wouldn't still be around. You wouldn't have this relationship with him. I don't trust them, but you do have to admit they saved his life." Jack brushed his fingers through Sam's hair, pushing some of it behind her ear. Sam felt very vulnerable; she hated showing weakness like this. At the same time she felt safe in Jack's arms, and wasn't about to push his comfort away. Sam looked up again and locked eyes with Jack.

"I want my family."

"We're your family too. SG1. We may not be blood, but hey I think we're a few steps above water, huh?" Sam giggled and rested her chin on Jack's shoulder. He was rubbing her back and decided to give her a kiss on the cheek. Sam tilted her head back and closed her eyes. She brushed her lips against Jack's and then pulled slightly away, but still close enough that their noses were touching and they each could feel the other's careful breaths. Both closed their eyes and stayed like this for a moment until their faces seemed to be magnetically drawn together, and they were kissing. Sam was the first to break away, and rested her head on Jack's chest again. She wiped away at her tears. Suddenly the door slowly opened, and Daniel was standing in the doorway.

"I came to see how you were doing Sam." He noticed that Jack was holding her, and immediately suspected that she must have been pretty upset to warrant an actual hug from Jack O'Neill. "Were you any help Jack?"

"He was Daniel," Sam just about whispered.

"Glad to be of service," Jack patted Sam on the back, and let her go. "I think you'll probably have just the right words Daniel. If you need anything, you know where to find me Carter." Sam nodded as Jack left the room. Sam felt shivers wash over her body and Daniel noticed her quickly shudder.

"Aw Sam, come here," Daniel pulled her into a hug. "Your heart is racing, are you okay?"

"Not right now, but I think I will be." Sam closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She wanted to tell Daniel everything- how she felt so all alone, how Jack made her feel so weak and so strong at the same time, how she tried to quell her grief with a kiss. Instead she felt the tears start to flood her eyes again.

"I know what it's like to have no family nearby- heck even on this planet! But we can have each other, and be our own family."

"It's funny, that's what the Colonel said to me, too," Sam smiled.

"Jack? I'm impressed. What are you doing tonight?"

"I figured I'd stay here, get some work done."

"Come to the movies with Janet and me tonight."

"Oh, no, I don't want to be the third wheel," Sam shrugged.

"You will NOT be the third wheel. Come on, please!" Daniel gave Sam his puppy dog look. She rolled her eyes, but gave in.

"Fiiiiiine," she sighed.

xxxxx

Jack was going to be all alone tonight. Haley had left him a message saying she was going to the mall and then her friend Monica's house. Janet had somehow convinced him to join her and Daniel at the movies. If it's a chick flick I swear I'm leaving, Jack decided. He stuffed his candy into the inside of his jacket before going inside. As he headed into the theater he searched out Daniel or Janet. Sure enough he found them immediately, but something else stopped his heart a little. There was Sam, sitting next to Janet, eyes beginning to widen, and a small smile creeping across her face.

"Daniel, Janet, Sam," he tipped his head and found his seat at the end of the isle, which was conveniently right next to Sam.

"Janet said to save a seat, but I didn't realize…" Sam trailed off and looked at her friends who were pretending to try and solve the celebrity riddle on the screen. Mets Rucio was not that hard to decipher, especially for a master linguist.

Jack began to pull his contraband candy out of his coat and get comfortable. Sam stifled a giggle when she saw that he had even managed to sneak in two bottles of soda. "You know, in case I got thirsty. Would you like one?" Jack offered it to Sam. "I know you usually drink diet, but we got a good workout at… y'know… this week."

"Sure s-Jack. Thank you."

"No soda for me?" Daniel asked, after he became tired of staring at Tom Cruise tidbits on the screen.

"Smuggle your own stuff or pay up to the vendors Danny Boy," Jack smiled. Janet let him take a sip of her soda. Sure was big enough for such a petite woman, Jack mused. The movie started and everybody quieted down. After a few minutes in Sam had the distinct feeling she was being watched. She looked out the corner of her eye to see Jack smiling at her.

"What?" she mouthed. Jack just shook his head as if to say 'nothing'. Stealing a quick glance at Daniel and Janet he saw that they were both engrossed in the movie. Jack placed his hand on top of Sam's and pulled it towards him. For the rest of the movie he played with her fingers, rubbed her palm, and just held onto her hand. It was so much fun that they both found themselves hoping the movie didn't end. When the credits started to roll Sam quickly pulled away before Daniel or Janet caught onto what had been going on all night.

"It's still early, how about we all go back to my house for some dessert?" Janet suggested. Everyone agreed, but first Jack wanted to call and check up on Haley. He wasn't thrilled to find her cell phone was turned off. He called the house and she didn't pick up there either.

"Why don't we move this little shindig to my place," Jack suggested, hoping to track down his daughter while keeping his current company. Once again everybody agreed, and met up at the O'Neill residence.

xxxxx

"She's not here yet. I thought she forgot about our plans," Monica Clark nervously rambled into the phone. She really hoped that Haley wasn't going to get into trouble for the slip up, but her mom got to the phone first and informed Haley's dad that she hadn't yet arrived. "I'm really sorry Mr. O'Neill, but I'll tell her to call you as soon as she gets here."

Jack slammed down the phone. "Dammit, I have no clue where she could be."

"Is it possible that she's with her boyfriend right now?" Daniel suggested, immediately regretting it. Jack's face turned a deep shade of red and it looked like he was going to crush the phone. He stormed up to her bedroom to find her address book.

"What the hell is Tommy's last name?" Jack growled. Daniel picked up a post-it note next to the phone with Tommy's name in a heart and his phone numbers listed on it. As he dialed, Janet placed her hand on his arm to try to calm him down.

"I'm sure there's a logical explanation for this. Cassie and I have had these mix ups all the time." Jack just grumbled in response.

Tommy answered his phone with a whisper. "Hale, I'm in a movie I'll call you back when it's over." Rather than respond and let Tommy know who he was talking to Jack hung up the phone. She wasn't even with her boyfriend.

"Alright, I'll deal with her when she gets home. For now, let's have some cake," Jack decided, pushing down his furious feelings, not wanting to make his friends suffer. Or make Carter uncomfortable.

xxxxx

"Goodnight Jack, call me if you need anything," Daniel said as he closed the door behind him. Sam was reaching for her coat, when she felt it tugged out of her arms. She turned around to see Jack propped up against the wall, his arms crossed and a tight smile on his face. She gave him a puzzled 'what are you doing' look as he let the coat fall onto the floor. No words were spoken as Jack pulled Sam towards him and proceeded to kiss her.

When they finally stopped for air Sam asked, "What was that for?"

"I've wanted to do that all day. I figured the SGC wasn't the BEST of places to continue what had been started earlier…" Jack looked down at Sam to study her reaction. Her face was flushed, puzzled, but underneath it… happy? He sure hoped happy. "Listen, if I pegged this all wrong, I'm really sorry. If earlier was just about a comfort thing… I understand, I really-" before Jack could finish his thoughts Sam had returned his kiss. Even she was shocked by her own behavior. Jack led her to the couch, and Sam tried to figure out what she wanted to say to him.

"We're breaking some major rules here," wow, she really wished that wasn't the first thing out of her mouth. She sounded so… stick-in-the-mud? Maybe. Argh!

"I haven't broken a rule in a long time!" Jack proudly exclaimed. "Aren't I due? And if I am, then you certainly are." They both shared a smile, and Sam leaned back into Jack's arms.

"If we really do this what's to say it's not going to blow up in our face and destroy SG1?"

"Because it won't. Anyways, I'd like to think we could handle something like that. Seriously Sam, neither of us have had the best of luck in the relationship department, but I promise I won't take over any planets or anything." That last remark won Jack an elbow in the ribs. "Oof, easy there major!"

"You know, I can build devices unknown to mankind, but I can't even figure out how to have a working relationship."

"Nobody can be perfect at everything Carter, even you," Jack squeezed her shoulders and turned her around so she was facing him. "Sam, we'll make this work, I can promise you that. Plus," he winked, "your father will hunt me down from across the universe if I make you shed a tear." Sam's laughter was interrupted by the telephone. He raised his finger to her, indicating it wouldn't take long. "Hello? … Hi Monica…"

"Mr. O'Neill, I just thought you should know I spoke to some of my friends who were supposed to go to the mall with Haley today and they said that she never showed up. They thought she forgot about them and her phone was off so they went without her."

"Alright, thanks for calling me Monica. Have a goodnight… Thanks, goodbye." Jack hung up the phone and proceeded to call General Hammond. "Sir, I'm sorry to be calling so late, we have a situation… Haley is missing."

xxxxx

TBC... I hope you're enjoying it so far. I've got a ton more chapters written out, I'll post them as I get feedback :)