Jacob Carter had never been one to interfere in his daughter's career or her personal life.

Until the day he was convinced she was sleeping with her CO.

So the first chance he got, Jacob forced the man into the closest empty room, which in this case was a cleaning supplies closet. Jacob pulled the door shut behind him and waited a few seconds for his eyes to adjust to the darkness, knowing that Selmac gave him a distinct advantage over the younger man.

"What are you thinking?" Jacob demanded.

"What am I doing in a dark closet?" Jack joked.

Jacob's eyes flashed, telling Jack that Selmac had taken over. "I have tried to convince Jacob that he is wrong. I apologize ahead of time for his actions. I see no problem with you pursing a relationship with Samantha Carter."

"Carter?" Jack said in disbelief.

"Yes, Carter. Samantha Carter, my daughter. My only daughter. Your 2IC."

"Carter?" Jack repeated. "You think I'm dating Carter?"

Jacob laughed. "Dating?" More like sleeping with her," Jacob claimed as he took a step towards Jack.

Despite the darkness of the room, Jacob could see Jack's eyes open wide in fear, or was it surprise in being found out, Jacob wondered.

"Sleeping… with Carter? Are you crazy? She's young and smart and totally not interested in me," Jack insisted with raised hands.

"Oh yes she is interested in you."

"No way."

"Oh yes. Trust me. I'm her father."

"Are you sure you don't have a concussion Jake, because you aren't making any sense here," Jack insisted. "Maybe you should go have your head examined," he suggested.

"Oh, it's perfectly clear to me Jack. You are carrying on a totally inappropriate relationship with my daughter. And," Jacob said taking a deep breath. "Sam is happier then I've seen her in a long time. Keep her that way and I'll take care of things with George."

Jacob Carter turned to leave the room.

"Uh Jacob, just to be clear here. If Carter and I did- theoretically – have a relationship, you would be okay with it?" Jack clarified.

"Yes."

"And no threats of bodily harm or repeated death?"

Jacob gave him a steely glare. "They were implied Jack, that is if there's anything left of you when Sam gets done."

"Oh. Yeah."

"I could list them for you if you need a reminder," Jacob offered, "But considering you've done the whole 'talking to the father' thing once before, I figured I was off the hook. But if you really need me to…"

"Nope, we're good," Jack quickly assured him.

Jacob opened the door and stepped out in the hallway. Jack followed, hoping to be able to avoid the one person he did not want to see him with Jacob.

But he must have run a little short on luck for the day because she was standing right there, tapping her foot impatiently.

"Dad, what were you and the Colonel doing in the cleaning supplies closet?" Major Samantha Carter asked.

"Discussing strategy," Jacob replied.

Without a doubt in Jack's mind, Sam knew she was being lied to, but wasn't willing to questions a superior officer or her father, which in this instance, Jack considered to be the first bit of luck he had received all day.

--

Jacob's visit was short.

To the point that he barely had time to talk with George before he was headed back through the gate to the Tok'ra. George had been unwilling to reveal anything until Jacob has pressured him.

At which time, George revealed that the President had already signed off on a changed set of regulations for the SGC, provided he was permitted to place the first bet on when the couple would seal the deal.

Jacob had laughed with George for a few minutes about how their Commander in Chief was a romantic at heart and then placed his own bet.

"I'll even split the profits with you if you make that change public," Jacob offered.

Hammond chuckled. "Would you be surprised to know that the update was made in the latest SGC handbook? I even sent a memo about it to Colonel O'Neill."

"You know George, something as important as the SGC handbook and all regulations therein should be memorized or at least reviewed by your 2IC, should they? I mean that kind of thing is below your status as General, isn't it?" Jacob asked with a knowing smile.

"You know Jake, I just think it might be," George agreed while nodding and trying desperately to keep the grin off of his face. "So should we place a bet on if Jack ever gets to that page or if someone else discovers it first?"

"Twenty bucks says that he gets Daniel to help him out and he points it out to Jack," Jacob said.

"I'll match that, but I'm betting on Sam," George claimed. "There's no way Jack will talk Daniel into helping him with something military related."

Jacob thought about for a few seconds and agreed. "You know, you're probably right George but this way," he said stepping towards the door, "I win either way."

"How's that?" George asked confused.

"I either get a new son-in-law complete with new grandchildren or twenty bucks," Jacob said with a smile. "It's a win-win situation."

Before George could respond, Jacob was gone. He shook hands with Jack and gave Sam a hug at the base of the ramp, hoping that he had done the right thing for the both of them.

If anyone deserved happiness after everything they had been through and everything they did on a daily basis, it was Jack O'Neill and Samantha Carter.

--

Major General George Hammond had known Jacob Carter since they were both lowly 2nd Lieutenants serving at the same base back at the beginning of their careers in the Air Force. He had been the one to drive Jacob to the hospital just in time for Mark's birth and Jacob had returned the favor for the birth of Hammond's first child.

Their wives had exchanged Christmas cards many times and while the two men had never served together again in an official capacity, their paths had crossed many times. George had never met Samantha Carter until the day she walked onto his base, but it didn't mean that he didn't feel like he knew her, Jacob had taken great pride in telling George all about his youngest child who had chosen to follow in her father's footsteps.

It wasn't until the day she walked onto his base that he realized he had already met Samantha Carter, all the way back in 1969, not that he knew it at the time or would have told Jacob that.

That day in 1969 had given George a future, a belief that everything they told him about becoming a General would truly happen. Because of that, he had been able to remain calm no matter how bleak the future looked.

And now he felt like he could repay at least two members of that team for what they had done for him.

But considering all the trouble SG-1 gave him, one Colonel in particular, George didn't feel too bad about making him work for it.

--

"But General," Jack objected, "The regulation manual only has to be reviewed once every two years, and it was reviewed last year."

"The President wants to know the effect that several rule changes have had on the SGC. You'll find a list of the changes made to the previous version included in the memo I sent you. Just give an honest opinion Colonel on if you believe the rule change has had a positive, neutral, or negative effect on the operation of the SGC," Hammond ordered.

Jack opened his mouth to say something else only to have Hammond cut him off again.

"And I know for a matter of fact that you have no excuses for not doing this. You are all caught up on your paperwork and have no missions scheduled while Major Carter and Doctor Jackson complete projects of their own. I expect to have the full report on my desk by Friday Colonel O'Neill. Dismissed!" Hammond ordered.

Jack quickly snapped his mouth shut and performed a parade perfect turn.

George had to work to hide his smile until the Colonel departed.

'This is going to be a fun week,' he thought to himself, wondering just how long it would take for the Colonel to reach the middle of this list where the change in the fraternization regulations was listed.

--

Paperwork was something that Jack O'Neill hated to do. In fact, a visit from Anise or an army of Jaffa was almost preferable to doing paperwork.

Almost.

"Carter," he begged, "Please, please help me out with this. I'm drowning in paperwork here."

Sam tried to hide her amusement at the man's obvious over exaggeration. "Sir I have my own work to do, which is why General Hammond assigned this project to you instead of me."

"Carter," Jack pleaded, using his best puppy dog eyes.

Sam patted him on the shoulder. "I'll tell you what sir, if you ever feel like you really are going to drown in your paperwork, give me a call."

"Yes!" Jack exclaimed, punching the air with his fist in victory.

"And I'll have Teal'c come bail you out," Sam finished with a look of innocence on her face.

Jack's jaw dropped. "Carter!"

Sam laughed and walked towards the door of her lab. "Cake Colonel?"

Jack shook his head at her in disbelief and followed Sam out of her lab, leaving the pile of paperwork, including the revised regulation manual sitting on Sam's desk.

--

The next morning Sam walked into her lab and found the pile of paperwork that the Colonel had brought with him when he had come to bug her the day before. She scanned through the sheet on the top of the pile.

It was a memo.

And it listed every change that had been made to the previous year's SGC regulation book.

And right smack dab in the middle of the list was the section that pertained to the fraternization regulations.

Sam quickly grabbed for the rule book that was under the memo and flipped to the necessary section. She read through it quickly.

Then she read it again just to make sure that she hadn't misunderstood the first time.

"Holy Hannah!" Sam whispered as she set the book down.

"What are you up to now Carter? Discover a new element?" Jack asked as he walked into the lab.

"Uh no sir. I just realized something. I gotta go," she said, quickly grabbing a bunch of papers, none of which pertained to what she was about to do.

"That was strange," Jack said aloud to himself. He looked around the room and shrugged before sitting down and digging into the pile of work in front of him.

--

"Sir… I have a request for you," Sam said as she stood in front of General Hammond.

"Oh? What might that be Major?" Hammond asked with a raised eyebrow.

"IwanttopursuearelationshipwithmyCO," Sam quickly said in a rush of words.

Hammond knew exactly what she was saying, but couldn't help leading her on, even if she had just won him the bet with Jacob. "What was that Major?"

"I want to pursue a relationship with my CO, Colonel O'Neill," Sam repeated and then waited to see what kind of reaction the General would have.

"About time," George Hammond said, "Though I didn't expect Jack to talk you into helping him out this early with his project."

Sam blushed. "He didn't sir. I saw the changes when I was cleaning up all the papers he left spread all over my desk."

Hammond was quiet for a long time, trying to figure out what this meant as far as the bet went. Realizing that Sam was still waiting for a response he finally said, "Request approved Major, just make sure that you and the Colonel keep it professional while on duty."

Sam smiled and turned towards the door before turning back around once more. "I'd appreciate if you'd keep this quiet General, I'd rather not have the entire base getting involved in my relationship with Colonel O'Neill before we've even discussed it," Sam requested.

George nodded. He could understand that. "I can do that for you," he agreed.

Sam turned to leave only to have General Hammond suggest one more thing to her. "You might want to call him Jack when you talk to him though Sam. Just a suggestion."

Sam smiled and ducked her head in embarrassment. "I probably should, shouldn't I sir," Sam agreed.

--

General Hammond was almost ready to call it a day when Colonel Jack O'Neill came rushing into his office.

"Sir, request permission to take Carter out on a date," he said in rush of words that was only slightly more understandable then Sam's tirade earlier in the day.

This time, George didn't even bother to beat around the bush. He had a date with his granddaughters. "Permission granted son."

But Jack just kept on talking. "I'll fill out whatever forms you need me to sir, and I promise you that this won't affect SG-1," Jack assured him quickly. "In fact-"

"Jack," Hammond cut him off, "I said yes, now get out. I'd like to leave before an emergency occurs that keeps me from seeing my granddaughters."

Jack was still trying to find his voice when Walter placed some folders in the General's inbox ten minutes later.

--

Jack drove to Sam's house and parked his truck right behind her Volvo. He went to the front door and rang the bell, but got no response. He started to go around to the back when one of the neighbors called, "Sam left on her bike about an hour ago. Said she had to meet a guy."

Jack waved his hand in acknowledgement. He stalked back to his truck kicking himself for not reading the new manual sooner. After all this time, all the waiting and hoping that they would have a 'someday', the day Sam finally decided to 'get a life' was the day Jack discovered that he could date his 2IC and no one, not even her father, could or would stop him.

He briefly thought about calling up Daniel and Teal'c to see if they wanted to come over for a 'guys night' and quickly decided against it, remembering that Daniel was up to his ears in some new translations. Nothing Jack offered would pull Daniel away from his rocks tonight!

Instead, he pulled into his driveway, resigned to spending the night alone when he realized there was a motorcycle parked in front of his garage, preventing him from pulling in.

A very familiar motorcycle.

He looked around for the owner and finally spotted her sitting on his front porch. Jack rushed over to greet her.

"What are you doing here Carter?" he demanded gruffly.

Surprise then hurt quickly flashed over her face before she quickly hid it under her military mask. "I needed to talk to you… Jack," she said softly.

"Don't you have somewhere else to be tonight?"

Sam looked confused for a few seconds before shaking her head no.

"Oh."

"Can we go in and talk?" Sam asked after a few seconds of silence.

"Oh. Yeah," Jack said unlocking the door and pushing it open. "Beer?" he asked as he made his way to the kitchen.

"Sure," Sam said as she followed him.

Jack opened a beer and handed it to her. "So what did you need to talk to me about Carter?" he asked.

"Sam," Sam corrected. "Just this once, can we talk as Sam and Jack, two people who happen to work together and be friends?"

For the first time since he had left General Hammond's office, Jack felt like a weight was being lifted from his shoulders. Maybe Sam knew the same thing that he did. Maybe. "Sure Saaaam," Jack said drawling out her name which got a smile. "Come on, I've got the perfect place to talk," he offered.

Jack led Sam around to the side of his house and up the ladder. The stars sparkled in the sky.

"This is great," she said sitting down next to him.

"Yeah."

"So… I read something interesting today," Sam began.

"Funny, so did I," Jack injected.

"Yeah, well mine was about the SGC and the regulations that pertain to the base."

"So was mine," Jack added.

"The Frat regs," Sam clarified.

"Me too."

By this time, the two of them were looking at each other as if trying to figure out if they both thinking the same thing. Sam was studying Jack, trying to figure out exactly what he was thinking while Jack was admiring her. He had given up years ago trying to figure out what Samantha Carter was thinking.

"I want to take it out of the room," Sam finally said.

"Are you sure?" Jack asked, "Because once we decide to take it out of that room, we can never put it back in."

"I'm sure," Sam said, injecting more confidence into her voice then what she really felt. "Are you sure?"

Jack chuckled. "You have to ask? Carter, there are millions; probably billions of men out there that would be better for you then me. But if in your infinite brilliance, you think I'm the right one, who am I to question that? Besides, it's always been up to you Sam. You and the Air Force that is. Neither of us could give up one for the other, so if I can have them both… I want them both," he finally concluded.

Jack watched as Sam closed her eyes and sighed. When she opened them again, she pounced, knocking him backwards as she kissed him.

It was just the start of a relationship full of stolen moments.

--

Finding time to be together was hard, especially since neither of them was willing to tell anyone that they were 'dating', well except Teal'c, Daniel, and Janet. They both agreed that a relationship was hard enough without the expectations of those at the SGC bearing down on them.

So the base, and pretty much any place in Colorado Springs was off limits.

Which meant lots of days and nights watching movies, stargazing, or, surprisingly talking.

It turned out that while Jack O'Neill would almost never talk about his feelings, he was more then willing to recall memories of his childhood, or even on occasion, memories of Charlie.

Not to say that it was always easy. There were days they fought, but they tried hard to leave work at work and their home life at home.

It had taken a week after Sam had pretty much moved into his house for Jack to realize he didn't want to wake up ever again without having her in his arms.

Thinking that it was too soon to be thinking about that, Jack shoved the thought of marriage from his mind.

Until one of the other teams didn't come back from a mission.

Jack couldn't imagine leaving Sam like that, but as he consoled the wife of one of the young lieutenants, he realized just how important it was that she knew just what she meant to him.

"We were only married six months, but it was the best six months of my life," she sobbed into his chest.

It looked like Jack was going ring shopping, because if he died someday, he wanted to make sure she knew how much she meant to him.

They had said 'I love you', had discussed having children in the very vaguest of terms.

"I'm not sure I can have them," Sam had said worriedly.

"We'll worry about that when the time comes," Jack had assured her.

But marriage?

That wasn't a topic that had come up.

Not even once.

Knowing that he had Jacob's approval made him feel better, but still Jack planned an open ended proposal, one that left everything up to Sam.

Climbing into bed one night not long after loosing an entire team at the SGC, Jack handed her a box. "I don't want you to ever doubt that I love you and want to spend the rest of my life with you. And when you're ready to do that, I want you to wear this," Jack said.

"Okay," Sam said, accepting the box with both hands. She wanted to open it but there was no way she was going to do it with Jack watching. She might not have been 'in' to jewelry but she knew what size boxes engagement rings came in, and the box she had just been given was too large for a ring. More likely it held a necklace and a pair of earrings, neither of which Sam would be able to look at without letting a show of disappointment spread across her face.

So she set the box aside and cuddled into Jack. She pretended to be asleep and waited until he drifted off before she slowly got out of bed, taking the box with her to the bathroom. She shut the door and turned on the light.

She dropped to the floor, which was hard and uncomfortable, but was her only seating option in the corner of the room farthest from the bedroom.

She opened the box and gasped.

Inside the box wasn't a necklace.

Or earrings.

Or a bracelet.

But three rings.

A set of matching wedding bands and an engagement ring.

Carefully, she pulled the engagement ring out of the box and slipped it on her finger.

It fit perfectly.

She pulled it off to examine it closer. The seven diamonds arranged in the white gold sparkled in the limited light of the bathroom. 'Always and Forever' was inscribed on the inside of the band.

Sam felt her insides melt as she realized exactly what Jack had meant.

And why he had done it in that way.

Jack hadn't wanted to pressure her, Sam realized. He didn't want her to feel like she had to say 'yes'. Jack wanted Sam to truly be ready for marriage if she wore this ring.

He hadn't wanted to pressure her for an answer.

What Jack didn't know was that Sam would have said 'yes' in an instant.

Which was why she put the ring back on her finger, where it belonged, closed the box, turned the light off, opened the bathroom door, put the box back on the nightstand, and climbed into bed with Jack, smiling the entire time as she pictured his reaction when he discovered the ring on her finger.

--

Jack woke up the next morning to find a situation that he had just started to get used to. He was cold on all but one side because Sam had stolen all the covers and was buried into his side, the only side of him that was warm.

Her hands clutched at the blankets as he tried to pull some of them his way, only to stop when the sunlight reflected off of something on her hand, causing it to sparkle in the early morning light.

Jack reached for her hand slowly, trying not to get his hopes up. He had been disappointed when she hadn't opened the box the night before, but he had promised himself that he wasn't going to push her. When she decided to open the box and wear the ring, then he would know she was ready for marriage. She didn't need him to explain to her what the rings in that box signified.

Sure enough, Jack realized as he examined the ring on her hand, Sam was wearing his engagement ring. Suddenly, being cold didn't matter any more.

Because some time during the night, he had gotten engaged.

Jack smiled and laid his head back down on the pillow, content to watch his fiancé sleep until she woke up.