That night, Jack made one of his normal nightly phone calls to Colorado. Sam was working on dinner, so Jake got the phone first and proceeded to talk Jack's ear off about what he'd done that day at TechCamp.

"Did you know that you can run a car off of nothing but light?" the little boy asked. "We saw videos. They don't look anything like normal cars, but they don't need any gas."

"Are you building a solar powered car?"

Jake laughed. "No! Not a real one. We get to make LEGO cars that run off of light power. We're going to have a race. Mine's going to be the fastest."

"I bet it will."

"It's going to be red and green."

"A Christmas car?"

"No…maybe I'll just make it all red."

Jack could hear Sam talking in the background, "Jake, can you give me the phone and then go get your bike off the lawn like you promised you were going to do an hour ago?"

"Okay," he replied.

"And do NOT start riding your bike around; dinner is on the table!" she called after him as he headed out into the garage. "Hey," she told Jack.

"Hey, yourself. It sounds like he's having a great time."

"Yeah, he is. And he's learning a ton. He already wants to go back next year; the older kids get to build robots."

"As long as they're not the kind that try to take over the planet."

"No, more like the kind that only have one function – using an infrared sensor to track a line. So how did today go?"

"Shouldn't you be eating dinner with the kids?"

"It'll reheat. Did something happen?" Suddenly, she was worried; was he trying to avoid answering her question? What if he'd changed his mind?

"No, nothing happened," Jack assured her. "It was a mercifully short conversation, and everything's in the works."

"He accepted your resignation?"

"Yep. Wasn't terribly thrilled about it, but… nothing really he could do."

"Any regrets?" Sam couldn't help but ask.

"Like what?"

"Jack, you've been in the Air Force your entire adult life."

"Not quite," he replied. "I've retired twice before. Third time's the charm, huh?"

She laughed a little. "That's one way of looking at it."

"I'm not doing anything I don't want to do," he assured her. "And I figure that this time, instead of running away from something, I've got something to run toward."

Sam smiled. "I love you, Jack."

"I love you, too."

"Abbie's dinner is starting to become projectiles, so I'll talk to you tomorrow night."

"Okay. Tell her I said to behave."

"Yeah, like that works even when you're here to say it in person."

He shrugged. "It was worth a shot."

After the kids were in bed, Sam decided that there was someone else she needed to call. She dialed her brother's cell phone as she sat on her bed. "Hey, Sam. You back in the States?" She had told him that her work trip over the past few weeks was to the telescope in Canberra, Australia.

"Yeah, I got back on Friday."

"How was it?"

"Um, it was good. Got a lot of work done."

"Great. How did the kids like DC?"

"They had a great time."

"And Jack did okay?" Sam had finally been forced to come clean with her brother about her relationship when she told him that she was going away. He'd been concerned about where the kids would stay – and had even offered to take them in San Diego. The truth about how things with her and Jack had unfolded had also left him worried, but he'd decided that the other Air Force officer must have cared for her a lot if he'd volunteered to be part of her kids lives. He was willing to give Jack a chance.

"Yeah, I think he got a lot out of the experience," she told Mark. "I'm not entirely sure what happened, but… He decided to quit running from his past."

"That's great."

"Mmm-hmm… and we're getting married."

There was a pause. "You're what?"

"Getting married. Jack's resigned from the Air Force and he's going to move to Colorado as soon as he can."

"Whoa. Did not see that coming. You said you've kind of been involved for two years now, right?"

"Yeah. And we've been really close friends for years before that."

"You think it's going to work out?"

"I think we still have some things to figure out. And he knows it, too; we're not going to have the ceremony right away."

"Okay. Do me a favor?"

"Be careful?"

"Well, yeah, but something else. Tell him that if he even thinks about hurting you, I'll kick his ass. Military training or no military training."

Sam burst out laughing. "Aw, you haven't threatened a guy on my behalf since high school."

"You don't think I mean it?"

"No, no, I do."

"Good."

"I don't think you need to be worried, but thanks, Mark."

"No problem…I really wish Dad could be here to see this. Both of us happy with families that we love. He'd be so pleased."

She smiled a little, knowing her brother was right. "Yeah, I wish he was here, too."

On Tuesday morning when Jack got back to his office after a meeting, he had an e-mail from Colorado waiting. A smile crossed his face after he opened it. Sam had scanned in a crayon drawing that Jake had made; there were a handful of gray, snowcapped mountains with a rainbow running between the peaks. He could tell that Abbie had contributed as well – purple scribbles filled the bottom margin of the image.

JUST WANTED TO LET YOU KNOW THAT WE'RE THINKING ABOUT YOU, the message read. WE CAN'T WAIT FOR YOU TO GET HOME. TALK TO YOU TONIGHT.

It seemed incredible to him that all of this was really happening. He actually had a family again. The fear was still there – it probably wouldn't ever go away – but it was manageable. The desire to make sure that Sam and the kids had the life that they deserved was stronger.

There was a knock on the door, and Jack looked up to see George Hammond in his doorway. "What can I do for you, Sir?" Jack asked.

Hammond pointed to the visitor's badge that was clipped to the collar of his button-up shirt. "I'm retired, Jack. I think we can lose the 'Sir'."

He nodded. "Yes, Sir."

Hammond smiled. "I hear you're also soon to be retired."

Jack raised an eyebrow. "It hasn't even been twenty-four hours and you heard already?"

"I have my sources. I also heard that congratulations are in order. You and Colonel Carter finally stopped playing games?"

How is it that EVERYONE saw this coming ten miles away? he wondered. "Yeah. She's agreed to put up with me."

"Brave woman."

"We all knew that already."

"Mmm. How are those kids of yours handling things?"

Jack picked up the small picture of Jake and Abbie that was on his desk and handed it to his former boss. "They're doing real well. I think us being in the same place is going to help them a lot."

"Good. Have you two set a date?"

"Not yet, but you, of course, will be welcome."

"I'll be there." Hammond handed the picture back. "Do me a favor, Jack. Make sure you enjoy your family. Time goes so quickly."

He nodded. "Yes, Sir."

"Well, I won't keep you any longer. Maybe I'll see you again before you leave town."

"Sure."

Once Jack was alone, he spent a few moments thinking about the other man's words. He'd known for years how fast time could pass and how quickly things could change. Kind reminders never hurt, though.

Jack picked up the receiver for his phone and hit one of the speed-dial buttons. "Hello?" Sam answered her cell phone a few moments later.

"Hey, it's me."

"Hey. What's wrong?"

"Nothing. I got your e-mail."

"Jake made that last night after dinner. I think he's just a tiny bit excited these days."

He smiled. "Really? I never would have guessed."

TBC...

A/N: Over 100 reviews! Thanks so much to everyone who's been following along!