Thanks again for those reviewing. It warms the cockles of my heart! Also thanks for those adding my story to their Story Alert – very flattering. If you could all come over to my house I'd offer you cake!

Okay here we go through the gate and on to Trelea! For those of you asking for more Sam/Jack interaction it's coming soon! I was going to include that in this chapter but have to run and clean my basement so I wanted to post something. I'll try to post the next chapter with Sam/Jack later today. Don't ya just hate RL getting in the way!

Many of you have guessed that Trelea isn't exactly what it seems … more to follow.

So again – only mine to use, abuse, comfort and play with for a little while – oh well, I'll keep dreaming!

It hadn't been nearly as bad as he had thought it might be. Oh, he'd had to stand around for a long time, listening to long-winded people who thought they were important, but he had gotten used to that, especially since moving to Washington. It was ironic, here they were thousands of light years from Earth and people were still just as full of hot air as they were back home! Oh well, he'd come along for the good of, not just his planet, but the myriads of others threatened by the Ori. A little bit of standing around listening to boring speeches was a small price to pay.

And really, some of it had actually been kind of fun. Daniel had been serious when he said the Trelean ceremonial clothes were a bit unusual. Unusual! They were absolutely bizarre. How could grown men and women feel that it was dignified to wear things sticking out at all angles from their bodies – it made them look like they had all sprouted some kind of weird growth. The one that really got him was the hat that he swore looked exactly like Marge Simpson's hair. When he caught an eyeful of that he'd glanced over in disbelief at Daniel.

Daniel had immediately glared back at Jack letting him know by just a look that he had better be on his best behavior. The last thing they needed was an interplanetary incident happening as a result of a piece of Jack O'Neill wit!

Jack had been able to hold it in until he had peaked over at Carter. At first glance he was worried that she was sick or injured. Her face was all red and tears gleamed in her eyes. A closer look, however, revealed that she was simply trying, desperately, to hold back her laughter. She too had been looking at the "hat" and immediately saw what Jack had seen. Unfortunately, at that moment she glanced towards the General and their eyes locked. That was it. The two of them lost it in gales of laughter. Jack had to bend over to try and get control of himself. He laughed so hard he was afraid he would disgrace himself and do something he hadn't done since a child – wet himself. He didn't remember the last time he had enjoyed something so much.

The ceremony had come to an instant stop with the Treleans looking on in consternation. Fortunately, Daniel used a quick bit of diplomacy and convinced them that Jack and Sam's reaction was considered flattering on earth. It simply meant, he explained, that the words of the Treleans had brought them great joy. Daniel wasn't quite sure if they bought it but they seemed to accept his explanation and went on from there. There were no other incidents – probably because Daniel threatened Jack with dire consequences if he screwed up again! He had promised to follow Jack around while reciting the entire pantheon of Egyptian gods!

In reality, however, as embarrassing and potentially damaging to Earth/Trelea relations as the incident had been, Daniel was glad that it had happened. It was wonderful to see Jack simply enjoy something so much, to see that old spark of laughter and joy that only Jack could manage so completely. What was even better was that he had shared the moment with Sam. Teal'c too appeared pleased with the "Marge Hat" incident. Both of them felt that things were proceeding well so far in their "O'Neill Plan".

Sam herself was still feeling mortified as she realized the laughing incident had been her fault. Jack had obviously been working really hard to keep himself in order until he had looked at her. But come on, how could anyone not laugh at that ridiculous hat. And it had to look like something from the Simpsons! It must have been fate.

As much as she was still embarrassed, a part of her was also feeling pretty darned pleased – not only that Jack had so obviously enjoyed the moment – but that he had shared it with her. Their humor had always meshed and it meant a lot to her that that connection was still there. So, after standing for what seemed like hours, she quite happily went to help Teal'c set up their camp while Jack and Daniel continued the 'meet and greet'.

"So, this won't take too long," groused Jack. " I'm sure we'll do this by groups or something. Well yeah, Daniel, I had to meet every single Trelean on this planet. I even had to meet the newborn babies for God's sake. I'm not a politician, I shouldn't have to shake all those hands or kiss all those babies." (Although he must admit that the kids were cute – they almost made the experience worthwhile).

Following the introductions, and exhausted from the afternoon hand-shaking and baby kissing, the two friends returned to their camp to rest before the banquet that evening. They left SG8 to deal with any futher details and to help with the set up for the evening events.

Again, the banquet was exactly like the many he attended in his line of duty. Oh, maybe the men weren't wearing tuxes or uniforms and the ladies weren't in gowns (at least not like the gowns women wore on earth!). They weren't at banquet tables in elegant rooms – they were sitting on the ground and eating mostly with their fingers. Other than that, things were pretty much the same.

He spent what felt like countless hours being nice to the wife of the chief elder on his one side and that self same elder on his other. Her name sounded like Bertha or something close, he couldn't remember. He thought the elder's name was Tadeuzs but in his mind, he simply referred to him as Teddy – with his heavy jowls and round stomach he reminded him of Teddy Kennedy.

He had to make approving noises about Bertha's wonderful children, the great crops and animals they raised and how wise and knowing her husband was. He avoided the countless questions about his 'mate' or 'wife' or whatever word they used. "Yes, he was single. No he wasn't looking for a wife. No, he had no children, Yes, the Trelean women were lovely, but Earth had rules. Yes, it was crazy but they weren't allowed to take a wife from another planet." Actually, no such rule existed, but it was a convenient way to avoid the matchmaking that seemed to be universal. The last thing he needed was to be presented with some young virgin as a parting gift!

All the time he sat there, his knees and back getting stiffer, his mind becoming numb with boredom, the one saving factor was he had a clear, unobstructed view of Carter, She had been placed to the left side of the circle from where he sat, beside some of the wives of the other senior elders. She was turned slightly away from him so couldn't see him as he looked at her. She was talking and laughing with the women and appeared lovelier than he had even remembered.

Oh, he wasn't blind. He could see that she too had aged. He could see the fine lines around her eyes. She no longer was the young, fresh woman with a chip on her shoulder about all things (chauvinistic) male. She had become a mature woman – one with experience and wisdom. But with that wisdom had grown compassion and understanding.

Maybe she wasn't as idealistic as she had once been. The experiences they had gone through tended to quash too much idealism pretty quickly. But she was still the loving, caring woman she had always been. In his eyes, she was more beautiful now than she had been as a younger woman. She was still incredibly sexy – and still made his heart race and other parts of his anatomy take notice. But it went much deeper than that. His first thought of her wasn't her looks or the thought of sex. It was the deep abiding person inside who reached out to him. Any man lucky enough to win the love of Samantha Carter would be a very lucky man indeed!

And face it, the sex would be pretty great too. So sue him, he was just a normal man!

Next, Sam and Jack talk!