Sam stood in her kitchen, in the middle of discussing the possibilities and what lay ahead for Daniel and Jack. She rolled her coffee cup around her hands, chewing the inside of her cheek and watching the now cold coffee swirl around the bottom of the cup.

"I think we're gonna have to move into Jack's house, Teal'c. If we stay here much longer, I think that they're going to kill each other."

Teal'c stood, hardly a recognizable expression on his face and tried to appraise Samantha Carter's feelings and thoughts. She was quite obviously finding the situation a real struggle, but felt an overwhelming obligation to look after them, and he believed, she felt love, for the two boys, that had always been buried in her heart, even as their adult selves.

"I believe that you are finding this situation very difficult, MajorCarter."

"No, Teal'c, it's not that. I just think that we're trying to exist in a space that is too small for a grown woman and two teenage boys. You've seen their room, Teal'c. It's hardly big enough to swing a cat, let alone house two surly teenage boys with completely opposing views on just about everything."

Sam looked at him with obviously tired eyes. Even her soul appeared worn. She'd been trying to work, carry out her normal duties, and trying to figure out what had caused this disaster for months now. Between that and being at home with two demanding moody teenagers, her nerves were more than a little ragged.

Sam placed her coffee cup back on the surface and turned to lean against it with her head hanging down. She scrunched her eyes together and set her jaw.

"Maybe I can't do this, Teal'c, maybe it is too much. I just don't know what to do."

Sam turned back and covered her face with her hands.

"I'm not their mother, Teal'c, I'm they're friend, colleague and confidante and I can't fix this. I thought this would be done and dusted by now. I thought we'd have them back!" Sam felt herself nearly shouting with pent up frustration and anger about a situation she had no control over. The tears started to form in the corners of her already tired eyes and Teal'c knew that something needed to be done before the Major suffered some sort of breakdown.

"I believe, MajorCarter, that the General has offered to take DanielJackson and O'Neill for a few days to give you a break?"

Teal'c continued to observe his friend and wondered whether he should have 'bear hugged' MajorCarter, as his friend O'Neill would have previously done in this sort of situation.

Sam glanced back up at her friend with a weak, watery smile.

"I know he made the offer, Teal'c, but I'd feel like I was betraying their trust. I really like having them here and I don't want them to feel like a burden while their minds are in such a delicate state."

"Have you considered asking them, MajorCarter? It would also give us the opportunity to move your belongings into O'Neill's house and to catch up on some much needed rest."

Sam realized that maybe she was taking too much upon herself, especially after Teal'c's matter of fact statement. She still felt riddled with guilt, but agreed to ask the boys their opinion.

"Okay, Teal'c, I'll ask them, but I'm not going to push them into doing something that they don't want to do. I at least owe them that much."

Sam smiled and turned back to the food she'd started to prepare earlier, before the coffee and the conversation had kicked in.

"You wanna stay for lunch, Teal'c? I have enough extra and I'm sure Jack and Daniel would be over the moon to see you here."

"I would be honored, MajorCarter. Are DanielJackson and O'Neill present?"

Teal'c was starting to pass an apprising eye over the residence. He noted that it seemed extremely quiet for a building that contained his young friends.

"Oh yeah, yeah.I think they're playing chess or something in their room. I tend not to look to hard when they're quiet." She laughed as she waved her salad spoon in the direction of the bedrooms.

oOo

While Teal'c and Sam chatted, the two teenagers in question sat, cross- legged, on the floor in their room. They were surrounded, by crumpled clothes and old Coke cans, bundles of quilts hanging from unmade beds, and discarded, smelly Duffs sneakers.(Both Jack and Daniel had decided that a bit of skate boarding wasn't beyond their expertise.)

"Come on, Jack!," Daniel taunted. "Are you gonna make a move or what? You've been ages!"

"Well, if you'd stop that infernal tapping on the bed, maybe I could concentrate!" Jack fired back the words while scrubbing his hand through his hair.

"You know you can't win now, Jack, you haven't won a game in over a week!"

Jack bit his bottom lip and moved his queen with one swift swipe of his hand. He looked up at Daniel and hit him with a glare that was fit to kill.

Daniel grinned back with that knowing look that Jack hated. With out so much as a second glance, Daniel snatched up his castle and planted it firmly in front of Jack's king. "Checkmate!" he shouted "You're such a push over, Jack!"

With that, Daniel giggled and leapt to his feet, well aware that his pursuer would be hard on his heels.

Jack, taken aback by the accusation, stared at the board with disbelief. He slapped his hand firmly on the edge and the pieces catapulted into the air. "Daniel, you—" he spluttered as he spied his opponent making a hasty exit. Scrambling to his feet, Jack all but bellowed his retort. "Danny, I'm gonna kill ya!"

Jack lunged and made a grab for his escaping prey, only to miss as Daniel used the doorframe to catapult himself down the hallway. Scrabbling to get purchase on the clothes-covered floor, Jack managed to lurch into the hallway in hot pursuit of the object of his revenge. Hearing Danny's heavy footsteps heading into the kitchen, Jack homed in, charging into the kitchen and searching for the missing archaeologist. Seeing jean-clad legs hiding behind Sam and continued giggling emitting from behind her back, Jack made a beeline to take out the object of his mission. That was until Jack realized that he was suddenly hanging a good foot off the floor.

Jack carried out a brief overview of his situation and realized that there would be no escape from the large, muscled Jaffa who currently held him at arms length by the scruff of his neck, unless he did some very fast talking.

"Uh, hi, big guy, how's it goin'?" Jack attempted nonchalant conversation, while feeling his hoody tighten under his arms, watching his sock clad feet dangle, and listening to the gentle chuckles of Sam and Daniel.

"It is going very well, O'Neill. Do you have any explanation for threatening death to DanielJackson?" Jack noticed Teal'c's deep rumble reverberated through his very being.

"Hey, I was joking, 'T', I wasn't really going to kill him. It's a figure of speech. Tell him, Danny." Jack turned beseeching eyes to his still chuckling friend.

"I dunno, Jack, you sounded pretty angry." Daniel grinned and looked through his lashes, enjoying the sight of his pursuer dangling in the firm grip of the large Jaffa.

Sam could hardly believe her ears as she realized that Daniel had moved from behind her and gently delivered his retort. She stepped back, still grinning and softly cuffed the back of his head. "Daniel!" she chided gently, the smile evident in her voice.

"I will gladly prevent any harm to your person, DanielJackson. I am very familiar with all forms of Taur'i discipline."

Jack raised large orbs of brown to take in the stoic look on his captor's face. "I-I-I really don't think that will be necessary, Teal'c." Jack gave a worried grin and then turned a newly formed death glare on Daniel.

Daniel smiled again at Jack's inability to form a witty retort, but quickly set about getting 'the Jaffa' to release his spluttering friend. He knew a death glare from Jack when he saw one and if he didn't fear for his personal safety now, he certainly would if he let this little game go on any longer.

"It's okay, Teal'c, we were just messing about, you can let him go." Daniel dug his hands deep into his jeans pockets and scuffed his sock-covered foot on the smooth, wooden kitchen floor. As he glanced down to watch the circle he was slowly forming with his toe, he grinned and quietly uttered his victorious boast. "I beat him at chess again. You know what a bad loser Jack is."

Shaking her head and sighing with disbelief, but grinning nonetheless, Sam batted Daniel's hair again playfully. "Daniel, there was no need for that."

With every ounce of indignation that Daniel could muster he turned and muttered his rebuttal. "He is a bad loser though!"

Seeing the scene play out before him, Teal'c decided to place his friend back on the floor, but felt it wise not release his grip on the teenager just yet.

"Come on, T, I'm not going to hurt him, we were just messing around, like he said!"

Holding Jack tightly by the shoulder, Teal'c took in the growing look of uncertainty on his friend's face. "I will not release you, O'Neill, until I have your word that you will not harm DanielJackson."

Jack shrunk under the hand and muttered something about archeologists and short life spans. Feeling the grip tighten, he lifted his head and met his captor's stare. "I give you my word, big fella, okay?"

"Very well, O'Neill."

With that, Teal'c let him go, and Sam and Daniel giggled once again. Jack pulled at his now stretched 'O'Neill hoody', one of his current most prized possessions.

"Go a little easier on the gear next time, T, this is my best hoody."

"I do not understand, O'Neill, what is a hoody?"

"Never mind, T." Jack sighed and continued to reshape his top, before turning a side ways grin on his best friend. "You comin', Daniel? Wanna have another go on those skateboards, buddy?"

Daniel grinned back at his friend. "Okay, Jack, let's go."

Daniel patted Jack on the back re-affirming his friendship and they both scurried off to find their 'skater boy' sneakers, another purchase that Sam had struggled to object to, under the current circumstances.

Realizing what they were doing Sam shouted her direction. "Lunch will be in 20 minutes! Make sure you're back and make your beds be—."

She was cut short by the slamming of the front door.

"See, Teal'c, I might as well be talking to myself, I know their room's a mess without even looking at it!" Sam spoke with exasperation while continuing the task at hand.

"I believe some time with GeneralHammond will do them good and it would also assist with your ability to relax and gain control, MajorCarter."

She turned and smiled warmly at her friend. Teal'c always had a way of putting things convincingly without sounding patronizing. "Yes, Teal'c, I know that you're right, maybe we can talk to them over lunch."

While completing the meal, Sam chatted to Teal'c about the lovely Christmas that they'd all had and how the boys had gone to such trouble to find her a special computer program that she had been looking for. Teal'c had agreed and had commented that all things being considered, they did seem happy and comfortable with each other and that, for both Sam and Teal'c, was the most important thing, especially since they were no closer to finding a solution to this.