Summery: A routine trip off-world has long-lasting effects for SG-1. Meanwhile, Jack has terrestrial trouble too, when his half-sister is recruited to the SGC and his worlds threaten to collide and all his secrets are in danger of being exposed.

Disclaimer: I do not own "Stargate SG-1" the series. I believe it is owned by MGM. No copyright infringement is intended. No disrespect is intended. I am merely intrigued by the possibilities.

A Matter of Degrees

by: Visions2share a.k.a. Vi

Jack had done his best to take the high road. He'd made introductions and even graciously allowed Sam to offer Frank and Angela a room in her house for the weekend. Although, Jack had taken the precaution of stressing they were only allowed to stay for the weekend and denying them keys for either house.

Daniel had tried to be nice, ever the diplomat, but had mostly given up after Frank referred to Teal'C as a 'colored boy' and Angela had said something about being glad to meet him even if she usually didn't associate with his kind. Daniel was all for letting cultures mature at their own speed in the wider universe, but wasn't nearly as tolerant of casual racism on his own home planet.

When all the adults had found chairs and were enjoying their pizza in a tense silence, Amy, who'd already finished her first piece, abandoned Leah and Cassie to climb into Jack's lap.

Amy whispered around her thumb, "Why did da pwetty wady bwing a suitcase? Is she gonna wive here with us?"

"Yes," Jack gestured to Sam, who was snuggled into his side on the couch, "this is Sam. She and I got married today. Do you know what that means?"

"Uh-huh. Means you gotsta share a room and a bed. Weah and mes share a room, but we sisters, so we have two beds." She held up two fingers to illustrate her point.

"That's exactly right," Jack said, which earned him one of Carter's sparkling smiles.

"Is she gonna come to my birthday party, Uncle Jack?" Leah, who'd appeared in front of them, asked.

"When's your party?" Carter asked.

"Tomorrow! We're gonna have burgers and hotdogs and cake and presents!"

"And ba'oons!" Amy added.

"Wow!" Carter made her eyes go big. "That sounds like quite a party."

"Just what every girl needs when she turns forty," Jack teased.

"Eight, Uncle Jack! I'm gonna be eight. Not forty. I'm just a kid. Forty is old," she drew out the word, "almost as old as you."

"I'll show you old," Jack reached around Amy on his lap and grabbed Leah by the ribcage, tickling her until she shrieked. Most of the adults scattered around the room laughed at the joyous display.

When Jack finally released her, and Leah sunk to the floor to catch her breath, the tense atmosphere was just a little lighter.

When Jack had made introductions, he'd introduced Carter as his wife, which had earned a raised eyebrow from Henry, grins from their friends, and absolutely no reaction from Frank or Angela. But in the reduced tension, Angela had found something to say.

"You're lucky in your wife, Johnny - she's quite well preserved for a woman your age. I do wish you'd take better care of yourself, dear. Letting your hair go gray is so aging. You'd look much better if you just touched it up a little. I'm sure your wife would appreciate it, too."

Jack just rolled his eyes, well accustomed to his mother's version of tact, but Carter leaned up and turned to study him as if she and Daniel hadn't caused each one of those gray hairs.

"I like it," Carter ran her fingers through the gray patches on his temples, "it's distinguished."

"Well, I suppose a wife does always want to look younger than her husband," Angela conceded, then tried again to converse. "Where did you and Johnny meet?"

Jack squeezed Carter's knee in warning, and she shot him a reassuring look. She wouldn't blow his cover.

"On base," not a lie, "I'm a major in the Air Force. We all work on base, actually," she waved a hand to indicate their friends, and didn't bother to mention Jacob's more confusing cover assignment.

"You work?"

"Carter has a PhD in physics," Jack answered, "the Air Force relies on her brilliance daily."

"The military," Frank sneered, "is no place for a woman who can attract a man. Just like Susan, here, you ought to be home providing comforts for your husband, not off pretending to do a man's work."

Jack sighed. He should have expected this. It was one of Frank's favorite refrains to spout at Susan. He should have known the blowhard wouldn't resist sniping at Carter either. He would have defended her, but Jack knew Carter was well able to handle herself with sexist idiots. Only she didn't get a chance.

"Who the hell do you think you are?" Jacob demanded. He stood, paper plate discarded, laser focused on Frank. "How can you be anything but proud of your daughter, who's worked her butt off to become a surgeon?"

"I'm Susan's father. I have every right to be disappointed in how she chooses to live. As a father, it is my responsibility to hold my children to the highest standards. Out of four children, Susan is the only one I've ever had to be ashamed of. Well, and Johnny, but that's not a surprise as a father's blood will out."

"I'm a father, too," Jacob said with a calm Jack thought had a lot to do with Selmak, "and I freely admit I wasn't the best at it. I'd never have been mistaken for the father of the year. But I've never, not for one single solitary moment, ever been anything but proud of both my kids. Lord knows I've failed more times than I can count at telling them, but they are my every reason to get up in the morning and my last thought before I sleep at night. Sam is a brilliant young woman who deserves nothing but the best from this world. It astounds me that a man like Jack, kind and noble, could come from people as horrid as the two of you. I guess his father's blood has been his saving grace."

…

Jack's arm was tight around her shoulders as she listened to her father defend and praise her.

Could this day get any better? She was well. Warm for the first time in what felt like forever. She had Jack. And he was Jack, her husband, not 'sir' or 'the colonel'. She'd just watched her father standup and declare, in front of all her friends, that he was proud of her. Tonight, she would join Jack behind a locked door and learn all his secrets. Or at least as many as they had time for between the door and the bed. In one day, all her wildest fantasies had come true. Mmmm, fantasies.

She snuggled closer to Jack, catching his eye, "What do ya say we leave them to it? Daniel will keep them from spilling too much blood. We could retire for the night and you could tell me another story? Maybe about those degrees of yours?" Sam slid her hand suggestively across her husband's abdomen and around his waist.

Jack grinned, and his eyes twinkled. "I knew you only wanted me for my degrees."

Sam giggled, happy and warm. And she was going to stay that way. Forever.

Author's Note: Only the epilogue left. It'll be posted tomorrow. Thanks for reading! ~ Vi