WOW... I honestly didn't expect to take the entire summer off from writing this story. My sincerest apologies. I ended up working two full-time jobs this summer and I honestly didn't have a moment to breathe, let alone work on my story. I really hope I haven't lost any readers due to this. I'm back at school, and I swear, I'm back on my game. Let me just say, this was one of the hardest chapters to write. It deals directly with an actual episode of the show (The Light), and it took me forever to figure out how to approach this. I didn't want to re-write the entire episode. I ended up keeping one scene in, but the rest works around it. Please let me know what you think, because now that we're back on a timeline, there's a little more rigidity. Until I decide to mix things up again ;) Just let me know. Good, bad, whatever, I want to hear it.

Big thanks to my last reviewers for sending me the most reviews out of any chapter yet! Emerald Green Queen, I love your attention to details! The rhinestone shirt was actually popular back when the story takes place, I took the idea from some of my high school clothes. I'm still working on building up the action.

Whirlwind- I'm actually not sure what the project was. It was something probably too filled technological for me to figure out how to explain :)

Slayerboi- I can promise you that Haley will stumble into something big, soon

Lisa-I-Am- I'm so glad you like the story and I'm flattered that you read it all in one day! I'm sorry you had to wait so long to keep reading, but it's back!

Freckles 101, EmSyd, and Awishaway- thank you all for your reviews. They really mean a lot to me.

AND FINALLY the story :)

xxxxx

Sam let her eyes slowly adjust as she groggily sat up. An arm pushed her back down on the bed, catching Sam by surprise. "It's 4:45, what are you doing up?" she asked Jack.

"Maybe you should be asking yourself that question…" he pointedly replied.

"Jaaack," she moaned, it was too early to fight with him. "I have to get back to the mountain. If I don't finish my calculations on the power supply of the device from P3X-862 early enough it will set me back for the whole day and I may end up working through the weekend."

"By getting there three hours later?" he asked incredulously.

"Yes, because I need to send it off to Dr. Hirsch for analysis after I figure out how the power supply works. He has his own work to take care of and a busy schedule. If I don't get the device to him by 0900 it won't be ready on Monday."

Jack frowned, thinking of a way to keep Sam from leaving. He rolled himself on top of her and said, "Well I order you to wait until Monday to resume work on this power thingy."

Sam shoved Jack off of her and sat up angrily. "You will not give me orders while I'm in your bed!" She stormed off to the bathroom, leaving Jack feeling like an ass.

Jack scrubbed his hand over his face, trying to figure out how to get out of this mess. He followed Sam to the bathroom, but she was already in the shower. "Sam," he said simply, hoping maybe with just the statement of her name she would be able to read his thoughts and immediately forgive him. Oy, he was crap with words. Okay, keep it simple O'Neill, it can't be that hard to do the whole talking thing. "I'm sorry."

Sam peeked her head out from the shower curtain, "For what?"

Shit! "Um, well, being an ass." She frowned at his poor response and turned back to the water. Jack looked down to his twiddling thumbs for some inspiration. "I was wrong to try and order you around. Really wrong. That was very inappropriate of me."

"Yes. It was."

And she's still pissed. "And… I shouldn't have given you such a hard time about working?"

"Is that a question or a statement?" she asked, her back still to him, continuing with her shower.

Think quickly! Don't screw up! "Uh… statement? I mean statement. Yes it was a statement." Sam stuck her head out from the curtains again, trying to read Jack's expression. He looked sincere, she decided.

"Get in here."

"Sam listen to me- wait, what?"

"I said get in here." Sam coyly smiled at Jack's frozen face. Once the words finally registered Jack stripped off his shirt and boxers and jumped into the shower before Sam could change her mind. "I still think you're a jerk," she whispered in his ear while pinning him against the wall. "And you're not fully off the hook."

"Yeah, I figured," Jack shrugged.

"As long as we're clear."

xxxxx

As Jack hopped down the stairs to the control room he grumbled to himself I can't believe she's actually going! He decided to keep his frustration with Sam to himself, though, after the little talk they had this morning. Well, it was more like Sam lecturing Jack, and him nodding along. She set a strict set of rules and guidelines for his conduct at work and at home if he wanted to continue on with their relationship. Wasn't the whole point of their being together about screwing the rules?

Jack entered the control room, and handed Lt. Barber Daniel's money. "Barber, when you get there, give this to Daniel, will ya?"

"Sir?" the confused lieutenant asked.

"We had a bet. I lost."

Sam stepped over to see what Jack was up to. "What'd you bet on?"

Jack tried to evade her question. "Sports related," he turned back to Barber, "Just give it to him. He'll know what it means."

Barber was barely paying attention, but managed a "Yes sir."

Sam was still curious. "What sport?"

Damn scientists and their questions. "Hmm?"

Sam was getting frustrated, "What sport did you bet on?"

Shit! "Curling."

Sam looked unconvinced. "Daniel bet on curling?"

Couldn't just say hockey? "Oh yes. His team won the Bonspiel."

"Okay. You don't have to tell me what the bet is, that's fine." Sam really wanted to punch him in the arm, but figured that would look somewhat bad and would fall somewhere on her list of "bad work behavior" that she gave Jack this morning.

Jack could tell she was trying very hard not to scowl. "Good. Have fun." He couldn't help letting his face twist into a smile at how cute Sam was right now. Er, Carter. They were at work. She was Carter! Jack followed Carter into the gate room.

"So Sir," ahh she broke out the S-word! "Are you sure you'd rather take the weekend off than come with me to see this place?"

"Ahh you know I get that way when I work my ass off. In fact, I'd have figured you'd want some time off yourself by now," but judging by this morning I guess I'm wrong.

"Oh I do, but Daniel says that of all the…" suddenly a light bulb seemed to flash above her head and she spun around to face him, "That was the bet? Whether or not I'd go? Don't you have anything better to do?" She was so going to make him pay later. Here she worked her butt off all morning to get the power device sent off to Dr. Hirsch's lab on time, and now she had to deal with Jack's aggravating ways. Sam wondered if there was a respectful way to yell at your CO in front of others. At the same time Jack was thinking of a flirtatious response to Sam's question, when Lt. Barber went running into the forming wormhole.

"Barber!" Jack shouted, too late.

"Oh my God!" Sam whispered, in shock. She stood staring at the gate, frozen, until Jack took her shoulders and pushed her out of the room. They had to find Hammond, although a technician had already run off to his office.

"Recall Daniel, and SG-5," Jack ordered Walter.

xxxxx

Jack knocked on Janet's office door. "Come on in Colonel," she said from her desk.

" Hammond wanted me to go over Barber's file with you," Jack sat down, handing over a note with the General's specific instructions.

Janet sighed, and opened up the file she had prepared. "He was in perfect physical and mental health. Lt. Rush told me he seemed a little preoccupied during his post-mission physical today, nothing out of the ordinary. I've seen a lot of distracted officers after their missions. Usually from exhaustion or anxiety to get home. There weren't any real warning signs from the lieutenant."

"Well, like Hammond said, stuff like this usually stays a mystery."

"Unfortunately," Janet agreed.

"Daniel's been taking it pretty hard. He even blew up at Hammond before. If he wasn't a civilian he'd have been thrown in the brig. I nearly kicked his ass."

"He's gone off to his apartment tonight. Wanted some time alone," Janet looked sad. "I tried talking to him, but he repeatedly told me I just didn't understand. He thinks the answers to this lie in whatever happened on the planet."

"Yeah, he wanted to go back tonight, he can be pretty determined." Jack stood up, and took the file Janet had made for him. "I'm going to bring this to Hammond, and then I'm heading home. Are you leaving soon?"

"Probably in a few minutes."

"Have a good weekend, I'll try to bring Daniel back in one piece tomorrow night."

"Goodnight."

xxxxx

As Jack left the general's office he heard a familiar "Sir!" being called down the corridors. "Sir, I was looking for you," Sam told him.

Jack didn't stop walking, but did respond, "Yes Carter?"

"Are you leaving now?"

"Yeah."

She looked around to see if anybody else was in the halls. "Do you want me to come with you?"

"Look Carter, I don't have the patience right now to play this game. We gotta be back here early tomorrow. If you want to work fine, work. I won't try to stop you."

"That's not what I meant!" her voice went up an octave. "I just-"

"Listen, I'm going home before my kid disappears for the night. You know where I'll be." Jack strode off, leaving Sam behind, stunned. She was pretty certain that she had made it clear to Jack she wanted to be with him tonight. She definitely was not in the mood to be alone. She was still very much shaken from Lt. Barber's suicide today. Sam was sure Jack felt the same way. The whole base had become very somber since Barber had plunged himself into the wormhole this morning. The death of a soldier defending the planet was always mourned, but a suicide brought about a whole different mood. There were no comments floating around about how brave a man Barber was, or how he was a hero. People were too uncomfortable to even mention Barber's name, especially those closest to him. His team was in an absolute state of shock. Sam couldn't fathom having to lose a teammate that way.

Sam had already returned to her lab when something Daniel had said a few years ago echoed in her mind. "Jack was ready to blow himself up with all of Abydos when I first met him." She gasped, and felt a surge of nausea.

xxxxx

Jack entered his house, so not in the mood to cook dinner tonight. Maybe he'd give Haley money and let her order whatever take-out she wanted. Instead he was greeted by her anxious face, flushed from running to greet him at the door. "Don't go in the kitchen yet. I'm not ready for you." Jack narrowed his eyes, and leaned his body to the side, every so slightly trying to look out the corners of his eyes towards the kitchen. He wasn't quick enough; Haley shoved him towards the living room, and ordered him to sit on the couch and watch The Simpsons. He couldn't exactly argue with those orders, but he did wonder what she was up to.

"What'd you do?" he suspiciously asked.

"Nothing bad! I promise, you'll be happy, it's a good thing."

Jack sighed. "Hales, I'm not really in the mood for games tonight, so if you could hurry it up." Haley nodded and ran back to the kitchen. A few minutes later she called him in. Jack slowly approached, afraid of what he would find. She had made more spaghetti than he could imagine. There were meatballs, which were half black, and a bowl of sauce was on the table.

"You cooked… for an army."

"Well, I wasn't sure how much spaghetti to make, and one box didn't look like all that much at the time, so I made two!" Jack tried his hardest not to roll his eyes, she looked too proud of herself. Haley knew how to make cookies, brownies, and other assorted baked goods. Actual meals were something new. Jack sat down at the table, and helped himself. Haley watched him carefully as he took a bite out of the meatball. Jack forced a smile onto his face and nodded as he swallowed it down. It wasn't bad… it was just… it tasted like it had been cooked by somebody who never made meatballs before. Not to mention the fact that the tomato sauce hadn't been cooked, and was poured over everything cold.

"So, what do you think?" she waited expectantly for her father's answer, when the doorbell rang.

Saved by the bell! Jack quickly got up and jogged over to the door. He was surprised to see Sam. He had figured she would be working off her stress in the lab tonight. Before he could say anything Sam threw herself into his arms. Her face pressed into his chest, his shirt getting wet from her tears.

"You can't ever think suicide is your only choice. It's not right, it's not right at all," she was murmuring into his chest between sobs.

Jack pushed her away and grasped her shoulders. "Carter get it together! I don't need Haley overhearing you."

"Daddy, what's going on?" Haley appeared in the doorway. "Sam are you alright?" she had never seen Sam so grief stricken and the thought of somebody Haley had seen as so strong looking so weak was quite disturbing. "What's the matter?"

"Go back to the kitchen, we'll be right there," Jack told her. "Everything's fine."

"It doesn't look like everything is fine to me!"

"Haley!" Jack hissed. "Go." Haley started crying herself, and retreated to the kitchen. Great. Now I've got two crying women to deal with. He turned his attention back to the one in his arms. "What is wrong with you Sam?"

Sam took a deep breath and tried to calm herself. "I don't want anything to happen to you. I couldn't stop thinking about what Daniel said."

"Today? He wasn't exactly in the right frame of mind t-"

"No! When you met, how you… you know…" Sam gasped again and more tears came flooding.

"C'mere," Jack pulled her into his arms. It was starting to click what Sam was talking about. "I get shot at on a weekly, sometimes daily basis and this is what you're worrying about?" Sam nodded against him. "I thought you're supposed to be a genius." Jack moved them into his office and closed the door. "I'm not going anywhere, I promise." Jack pulled Sam's face up to look at him, "You need to calm down. It's okay, nothing's happening to me."

"Uh huh."

"I know this is breaking one of your rules, but I'm ordering you to believe me. We need to get back to the kitchen before Haley comes to eavesdrop. She doesn't know what you're talking about, and there are some questions I'd prefer unanswered."

"Okay," Sam sniffed. Not very satisfied by Jack's answer, she decided she would try to put herself together for now and have a serious talk with him later. She needed him to know that he was not allowed to put her and everybody who loved him through such grief.

"C'mon let's eat. There's so much food that we're expecting you to eat twice as much tonight," Sam forced out a smile and grabbed Jack's hand as they walked to the kitchen. Haley was waiting at the table, her head buried in her arms, crying quietly. "Look what you started," Jack whispered.

He went over to his daughter and put his hand on her shoulder. "Hey, stop crying, you made a nice dinner and we're going to sit and enjoy it. No tears." Haley gave Jack a dirty look, but obeyed nonetheless. Jack took the contents of his plate and the serving dish and put it in the microwave. "We let it sit too long," he informed Haley. "Do you want me to heat up yours as well?"

"No… that's alright." He watched as she took a few bites of her pasta, and pretended to ponder. "On second thought, I guess it would be alright it I made this a little hotter."

Once everybody was served, they all dug into their dinner. Jack had to admit, it was much more edible having been heated up. The trio ate in relative silence, until Haley could stand it no longer. "So are either of you going to tell me what happened earlier?"

"Nothing," Jack flippantly replied.

"Daddy… c'mon."

"Haley, it's none of your business, and even if it was, there's nothing to talk about." Sam swallowed as she watched the two begin to scuffle. This was undoubtedly her fault.

"You don't ever tell me anything!"

"Maybe because you're just a kid," he made the mistake of saying.

She let out an appalled gasp. "I'm fifteen!"

"Last I checked fifteen was still a kid."

"Last I checked most fifteen year olds aren't genetically engineered and kidnapped by aliens! Last I checked most fifteen year olds don't know about a portal to other planets! Last I checked most fifteen year olds didn't grow up on a top secret military base! Keeping the world's biggest secret... EVER!"

"Haley, just shut it and eat," Jack tersely replied. Sam cringed, as Haley's eyes appeared to bug out. Steam seemed to pour out of her ears, but she didn't respond. Instead she finished her meal without another word and ran off to her room.

Little was spoken between Sam and Jack as they finished eating. They were too uncomfortable to talk about work, and there was very little going on outside of work at the moment, since they had been so busy going on mission after mission. Finally, Sam cautiously addressed Jack regarding his treatment of Haley. "I think you upset her."

"No kidding. You really are a genius."

"I can't help but feel responsible. I'm sorry I came over."

"Don't be sorry, you're always welcome here," Jack quickly stated.

"I think you should apologize to Haley."

"I'd rather not. She was being annoying."

"You sound as mature as she does. We ruined her night." Jack opened his mouth to fight back, but Sam raised her hand, making a stop gesture. "Fine she annoyed you, but you didn't respond properly. Just apologize."

"Will that make you happy?" Jack asked.

"Yes."

Jack let out a long sigh, as he rose to rinse off his dish. He hated apologies, but it was easier apologizing to just Haley right now rather than having to apologize to Sam as well in the long run. He could really use a vacation right about now…

"Daddy," Haley appeared in the doorway, and called to him in a wispy voice. "May I please have some friends over?"

"Friends? How many?"

"Three or four." She looked down and played with the hem of her shirt while expecting to be shot down.

"Three or four?" he grumbled. Sam had come to stand by his side, and placed a hand on his arm. Her eyes met his, and he was pretty sure she was mentally telling him 'you owe her'. "Fine."

"Thank you," Haley ran out of the kitchen before he could change his mind.

"Do I still have to apologize?" Jack asked Sam.

"Yes."

xxx

Jack knocked on Haley's door. She opened it, but was on the phone and motioned to him she'd just be a moment, and closed the door again. Jack stood, fidgeting with his hands while he waited to speak to her royal highness. He heard her hushed voice on the other side of the door. "Yeah, my dad's waiting to talk to me; I'll see you in a few minutes."

A second later the door opened. Haley looked Jack up and down suspiciously. "Yes?"

"I'm sorry wasn't very nice to you at dinner. You worked very hard to make a good meal."

"I did."

"I shouldn't have yelled at you."

"So will you tell me why Sam is so upset?"

Jack's jaw set firmly. "Nope."

"Daddy! I thought you were sorry."

"I'm sorry I yelled at you. Listen, it was a rough day at work, end of story. Do you forgive me or not?" Jack folded his arms, waiting for Haley's reply.

"Fine."

"So who do you have coming over tonight?"

Haley paused as if she was trying to remember all of her friend's names. "Monica, Eric, Erin, and Nick."

"I'm sorry did you say Eric and Nick?" Jack thought maybe he was hearing wrong.

Haley pretended to go over her list again. "Yup."

"Unless those are the nicknames for your friends Erica and Nicole, you are not having Eric and Nick over."

"Daddy-"

"I do not want boys in your room."

"Well you have Sam over, so I can't exactly use the living room."

"We'll go somewhere else in the house-" Jack paused, somewhat impressed, but more furious with how his daughter changed the subject. "That's beside the point. I do not want you having boys over. Period. End of story."

"They're already all on their way over," Haley's voice was rising in pitch, getting close to that whine territory he hated.

"Well you can just send them home," he resolutely decided. "Monica and Erin can stay."

"NO! Do you want me to look like the biggest loser…EVER?"

Jack sighed, and was about to retort, when Sam's voice interrupted. Neither Haley nor Jack had noticed her ascending the stairs. "What if Haley agrees to keep her door open at all times?"

Haley started to protest, but stopped when she saw Jack starting to contemplate this idea.

"Sam, boys in her room?"

"She's having girls over too, Jack. This isn't a private date in her bedroom." Jack cringed when she said that.

"She's not having them in her room."

"She is right here you know," Haley interjected, but was ignored.

"Why don't we stay upstairs and let them have the living room?"

Jack clenched his fists and practically growled. "Carter, I am not happy about this," and stalked off to his bedroom. "Those boys are out of here by midnight," Jack called out as an afterthought.

"But it's Friday!" Haley called back. Sam put her hand on the girl's shoulder and turned her around.

"Don't try your luck," she whispered.

"Thanks for helping me out," Haley gave Sam a hug, and practically jumped down the stairs to wait for her friends.

xxx

Sam found Jack sitting on the edge of his bed, definitely moping. She suppressed a smile, and sat next to him, hugging her knees to her chest. "She could be sneaking out, you know."

"Don't start with me; I'll start sealing all of the windows up."

"I'm just saying," Sam shrugged. "When I was her age I snuck out a few times. When we lived in California, I had a giant tree right outside my window, I used to climb down it, and meet George Metsky."

"George Metsky?"

"He was a senior," she smiled and poked Jack in the side, "I always had a thing for older men. He'd take me for rides on his motorcycle. One night Mark caught me, and sure enough a week later the branch that rested next to my window had been cut down," Sam sighed.

"Is this supposed to make me feel better?"

"I don't know… I guess I'm just trying to tell you that Haley will try and get away with things you'd rather her not. You can do your best to watch over and protect her, but if you smother her she'll just rebel even more."

Jack laid back and put his hands behind his head. "This is only going to get worse, isn't it?"

"Probably," Sam giggled, and leaned over to place a kiss on Jack's lips. She rested her head on his chest, and he could hear the machines running in her brain. "I'd like to talk to you," Sam stated, not looking at Jack, but at the wall instead.

Jack's body stiffened. "What were we just doing?"

"You know what I mean Jack. I need to talk to you, get some things clear."

"Sam…"

"Can't you for just once have a deep conversation without me having to force it out of you?"

"I'm not in the mood to talk about this. Not now, not ever really." Jack gently pushed Sam off of him, and sat up.

"Jack, I love you-"

"If you love me then you'll understand how I feel. Yeah, today was a rough day, but what happened to Barber has nothing to do with us personally. Don't get me wrong, it was a tragedy. I just don't feel the need to talk about this, or my past for that matter."

Sam just lay where she was for a moment, debating what to do or say. She pushed herself up, and pulled Jack's face towards her. "If you ever try to leave me I will find a way to bring you back and kill you myself."

Jack frowned, "Thanks, I think…" he hoped that this was the end of the conversation, leaned back against his headboard, and turned on the TV. Sam suddenly felt very awkward, and played with her fingers as Jack flipped channels. He finally stopped upon discovering a hockey game.

By the end of the second period Sam was feeling bored, so she decided to get something to drink and pop her head in on Haley before Jack beat her to it and embarrassed his daughter. Sam saw three people on the couch. She recognized Monica, who was snuggled up against some guy. The other girl, Erin, was at the far end of the couch, looking bored and trying to watch the movie. Sam cleared her throat a little, and the boy pushed himself away from Monica. "Where's Haley?"

Monica shrugged. "She's outside," Erin answered. Sam wasn't sure what the appropriate action was to take. She didn't want to spy on Haley or rat her out, but she didn't want Jack to discover her doing something she shouldn't and go ballistic. Sam decided that it was best if she just poked her head outside briefly. Nobody was outside; not in front of the house, not in back on the deck. She started to worry that Haley had completely taken off when she remembered there was one place she hadn't yet checked. The roof. Sam quietly approached the ladder, when she heard Haley's voice chatting away. She breathed a sigh of relief. Talking was better than… when did she become her father? Sam shuddered, and re-entered the house.

"How are the kids?" Jack asked, as Sam sat down next to him.

"Fine." Jack seemed satisfied enough and returned to watching the game. Sam just couldn't get into the game, and ended up falling asleep. She woke up a little while later at 2359 hours to see Jack heading downstairs. She quickly followed behind. Both were pretty surprised to see all three girls sitting on the couch together and the two guys on the opposite couch.

"Haley," Jack made eye-contact with her and nodded towards the door.

"The guys are just waiting of Eric's sister to come and pick them up. You can go back upstairs if you want to go to bed," Haley gave a sweet smile, the one that Jack never trusted.

"That's alright, I'm going to be in the kitchen." Jack pointed his thumb over his shoulder, "Getting… food. In the kitchen. That's where I'll be." Sam suppressed a laugh as she followed Jack in the kitchen. Jack leaned over the counter towards Sam. "I don't trust them," he whispered. "If she's anything like me- and I think we both know she is- then she is automatically up to no good." Sam just rolled her eyes and helped herself to a bottle of water.

A few minutes later Jack heard the kids leaving the house, and sounds of car doors opening and closing. "Ah, I can finally go to bed," Jack announced, stretching out his arms.

"I'll be right there," Sam said, leaving him to find Haley.

Sam found Haley cleaning up the bags of junk food and sodas that littered the floor. "Hey Sam, what's up?"

Sam swallowed, not sure what to say at first. "Listen, Hale, I heard you outside before. I wasn't spying on you, I just wanted to make sure you hadn't left the house-"

"I wouldn't leave!"

"Hale, I just want you to realize that it could've been your dad. And if he's anything like my father was when I was growing up… just be happy he didn't find you. I'm not always going to be here to cover for you."

"So are you telling me to cut it out or be more careful?" Haley grinned.

"I'm going to bed. We have a mission tomorrow," Sam smiled, and patted Haley's arm as she left the room.

"Goodnight Sam!" Haley shouted after her.

xxxxx

The next day was hell. Jack had barely saved Daniel's life. Twice. He never thought he'd have to pull his friend off the edge of a balcony. Daniel was supposed to be the mentally stable one. Of course, he was the one who always seemed to be affected first by whatever crazy ailment came across SG-1. He certainly died the most. At least it was just the effects of the drug. Jack had to keep telling himself that. And now he, too, was addicted to the same drug. They all were. And they were stuck here. Well, everybody but Teal'c. Who actually offered to stay with Haley. For nearly a whole month. Nobody could ever say Teal'c wasn't brave.

Sam, Jack, Daniel, and the boy, Lorne had followed Teal'c to the gate. "The doc is going to kill me; Haley's not exactly going through what you'd call an 'easy' phase right now."

"Janet's very understanding Jack," Daniel said just as much to Jack as he did himself. The pressure he had put on Janet in the past twenty-four hours had been terrible. First he had snapped at her multiple times and stormed off to his apartment, and then he nearly died. She had saved his life yet another time. Sam had repeatedly been telling him that it wasn't his fault, but the guilt was still there.

"I will look after Haley O'Neill," Teal'c volunteered.

"T, that's very generous, but you don't have to do that."

"It would be my pleasure, O'Neill. Surely, if I can, as you say 'deal with you' your offspring will be a serving of pie."

"Piece of cake." Teal'c bowed his head in response.

So now, Jack was left wondering just how big of a piece of cake his daughter was with Teal'c while he was practically on vacation. Hardly the vacation he had planned for himself, but it would do.

"Jack!" Daniel entered the room waving an envelope. "The SGC just sent through supplies for this week. General Hammond sent this letter through for you along with a box." Jack took the envelope and ripped out the letter.

"D'oh!"

"What is it?"

" Hammond wants me to catch up on my paperwork."