By morning, the reality of their decision was still sinking in. There was a lot that had to get figured out in order to make the whole plan work.

"I'll retire," Jack offered as he and Sam stood in her kitchen, making breakfast together. Jake and Abbie were still asleep in their rooms. "I'll move back here."

"What are you going to do all day if you retire?" Sam asked.

He shrugged. "I don't know. I'll figure something out."

"You know, I could retire and we could all move to DC…"

"Hell no," he quickly replied. "I already hate my job. Why should I have to keep it and you give up yours?"

She laughed. "All right, all right. I just thought I'd throw it out there."

Jack shook his head. "No. Colorado's home for all of us. I'll figure out something to stay busy."

"Okay…Jack, you're sure about this, right?"

"What?"

"I just…this was really sudden and I want to make sure we're not getting into something that we can't handle." It seemed like his time with the kids had gone well, but she still wanted to make sure that he was really ready for family life.

"I wouldn't have asked if I wasn't sure," he told her.

"I think we should wait a little while, before we actually get married, I mean. Give everyone a chance to get used to the idea."

He nodded. "Okay."

They could hear giggling and footsteps down the hall. "Kids are up," Sam observed.

"Should I go free Abbie from her 'cage'?"

"Either that or you get to finish the bacon." He headed off to retrieve the toddler. Jake was on his heels when he returned.

"We want breakfast," the little boy announced.

"Well, it's almost ready," Sam replied. "Can you set the table?"

"Okay."

Jack raised an eyebrow at Sam once Jake and Abbie were occupied. "Should we tell them?" he quietly asked, "Or keep it a secret?" She gave a seemingly-nonchalant shrug, but he could tell from the smile she was trying to hide that she was just teasing him.

"Hey, guys?" he called to get the kids' attention. "I've got something to ask Sam." She laughed as he dropped to one knee in the kitchen.

"Jack!"

"Come on, now, we gotta put on a good show," he told her. "And you can't break tradition." She rolled her eyes, but was smiling as she motioned for him to continue. "Samantha Carter, would you do me the honor of letting me spend the rest of my life with you?"

"And us!" Jake piped up.

"Of course. And these two amazing kids," he added.

Sam grinned. "Yes, but only because you asked so nicely." Jake instantly started cheering, and Abbie joined in, even though they were pretty sure she didn't really know what was going on. "Aren't you supposed to have something for me?" Sam teasingly asked Jack.

"Oh, right, I almost forgot." Her eyes went wide as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a little velvet box.

"Jack, I was kidding." She'd assumed that this whole proposal thing had come up suddenly and he therefore hadn't had the opportunity to go jewelry shopping, but apparently not.

"Well, I wanted you to know that I'm serious," he replied as he opened the lid to reveal the diamond ring inside. "I got this in DC to have for the right moment – which didn't at all go as planned, but was still right."

Sam smiled as he took the ring out and slipped it onto her finger. "Yes, it was," she agreed.

"You're supposed to kiss her!" Jake prompted, which made the couple laugh.

"I think the young gentleman is right," Jack agreed as he stood back up and followed orders. Jake came over to get a hug, with his sister right behind him.

"Now we get to be a real family?" he asked his guardians.

Sam grinned. "Well, that's the plan."

On Monday morning, Sam was in her lab at the SGC when Daniel and Cam came by. "Got a sec to talk?" Cam asked after knocking on her doorframe.

"Yeah, sure," Sam said as she sat back in her chair. "What's up?"

"Well, if the rumors going around here are true," Daniel said, "You're going to be making another career change?"

She rolled her eyes. "God, news travels fast."

The archeologist smiled. "Gossip always moves at light speed."

"Are you really taking command of Atlantis?" Cam asked. "I mean, we all know that you totally deserve it, but…what about Jake and Abbie?"

"And what about Jack?" Daniel added.

"He said it, not me," Cam pointed out in an attempt to keep himself out of trouble. He'd promised to keep his mouth shut about her relationship.

Sam smiled. "Relax, you guys. I'm not leaving." The fact that they both visibly seemed relieved made her smile grow a bit. She was happy to be staying with her friends, and glad to know that not only did they want her around, but they were also concerned for her family's well-being.

"They did offer it to you, though?" Cam wanted to know.

"Yes, they did. And I was definitely honored, but…I can't. You've already said why."

"Did you tell Jack?" Daniel asked.

Sam nodded. "Yep. We're on the same page."

"Good." Daniel had had a front row seat to his friends' decade-long dance around having a relationship. He had thought that maybe Jake and Abbie would bring some permanence and force them to deal with their feelings, so the notion of Sam moving to another galaxy had really had him worried.

"In fact…" she held out her left hand so they could see the ring.

"It's about time," Daniel told her. The mock-annoyance in his tone was balanced out by his smile and the warmth of the hug that he gave her.

"Congratulations," Cam said as he came over and did the same.

"Thank you."

"Have you worked out logistics?"

"We're getting there. Jack went back to DC this morning and he's going to give the president his resignation so he can move here."

"Keeps getting better and better."

"Yeah, Jake and Abbie are real excited. We're hoping this helps them."

"What's today?" Cam asked Daniel. "I think Teal'c owes me money…"

Sam raised an eyebrow. "You were betting on us?"

"Yeah, we were betting on you. Kept us waiting so long; what did you expect?"

"Should I ask how much you just won?"

Cam and Daniel shared a look, debating, before they answered, "No," in unison. Sam laughed.

"I want a cut," she told him.

"I'll think about it."

Now that she'd told the guys, Sam was certain that the SGC grapevine would start buzzing again. She headed down to the infirmary to talk to Janet before her friend heard the news from someone else.

"You got a minute?" she asked as she entered the doorway of Janet's small office.

"Sure. What's up? How was your weekend?"

Sam laughed. "It was really interesting."

Janet cocked her head in confusion. "Did something happen with the kids or Jack?"

"No, they're fine. Better than fine, actually…Jack and I are getting married."

Her eyes widened. "What?"

"Yeah, I was in disbelief, too. It just kinda…happened."

"Oh, my God. Congratulations!"

She smiled. "Thanks."

"Jake and Abbie must be loving this."

"Yeah, they are. Jake asked me if, once we're married, he and Abbie get to change their names back to O'Neill."

"That's adorable."

"Yeah, they're really happy."

"Have you made any plans yet?"

"Not really. Jack's moving back here – that's about as far as we've gotten. We're going to wait on the ceremony until everyone's adjusted. It won't be anything big anyway, just friends."

"Sounds like a plan."

"Would you be willing to take on maid of honor duties?"

Janet smiled. "I definitely would. Thank you."

"I should be thanking you. And feel free to bring a date…" She laughed when she saw her friend blush. "How are things with Dr. Eric?"

"Really good. He and Cassie get along great; we all went hiking this weekend."

"You think it's serious?"

"I don't know…I've been really scared of getting hurt again, but… He makes me laugh. Sometimes we end up sitting on my couch until three in the morning, just talking."

"Do you love him?"

Janet smiled. "Yeah, I do."

Sam returned her grin. "Looks like maybe we've both found 'happily ever after'."

TBC...