Baby Aimee was a fighter, especially when it came to sleep. Her eyes continually slid closed and snapped back open as Jack tucked her tiny feet into the footed pajamas she wore and fastened them tightly. "Sleep, Little Bit," he urged gently, pressing a gentle kiss to her forehead. "Mommy and Daddy love you."

Settling the drowsy girl in her crib, he cranked the lever on the mobile above it, shutting off the lights as he left to the sounds of "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star." It was a short trip down the hall and, as usual, Sam was already beneath the covers, curled up with her back to his side of the bed.

He bit back a sigh. She'd been better since her little heart-to-heart with the big Jaffa, happier, less introspective, but nothing past lights-out had changed a bit. He could kiss her – chastely – hug her, hold her... but anything remotely untoward shut her off as completely as if he'd found a light switch. To say that it was frustrating was a severe understatement.

But Jack O'Neill had never in his life forced a woman – truth be told, he hadn't ever needed to – and he wasn't about to start now. He'd all but given up making advances.

His t-shirt ended up close – sort of – to the dirty clothes basket, and that was a small victory. His jeans, however, puddled to the floor, and he removed one very important object from the pocket before climbing into bed to wrap himself around the woman already there. "I have something for you."

"Oh, yeah?" She sounded more than a little suspicious.

His top hand wrapped over her shoulder to hold the black velvet box in front of her face and flick it open. Inside sat a shining white gold ring, the solitary diamond in the center sparkling even in the dim light. "Samantha Carter," he murmured in her ear, "will you marry me?"

The breath she took was shaky. "It's beautiful," she whispered back, "but are you sure you want to do this?"

"Positive. Certain. One hundred percent absolute."

After a long moment, she nodded. It was difficult with one arm already buried beneath her, but he dropped the box lightly on the bed and pulled the ring from it, slipping it delicately around her slender finger.

Unfortunately, the motion reminded him of something else entirely, and his body stirred completely without permission. He let it go, knowing she could feel his desire, wondering if maybe that night might be the night she would change her mind.

It wasn't. Her head ducked toward her chest in that way he'd grown to expect when she was uncomfortable with something, and he snapped the ring box shut and tossed it behind him. It landed – somewhere – with a soft thud.

It didn't matter, really. In a few weeks, they'd be married, and surely that would set her at ease. And even if it didn't... she'd come around. He'd waited years; he could be patient a while longer.

The sudden idea that she had been waiting until marriage sprung into his mind, and he almost dismissed it as ridiculous. But then again, he didn't know for certain that she'd slept with anyone – certainly not in the years since she'd joined SG-1. He hoped to God it wasn't true, because that meant her first time had been....

He wrapped his arms tightly around her and kissed her hair. "I love you."