The ride to the restaurant was mercifully uneventful with Jack in the third row at Ashley's insistence and Jacob up front with Mark. Sam sat between them in Michael's row and listened to her dad and Mark with one ear and Ashley's endless chatter with the other while Michael played his Gameboy. Jack was handling Ashley's obsessive attention like a champ, unsurprisingly, chattering back at her as if her sparkly shoes and her friend Melissa really mattered to him.

When they arrived, Sam walked between her brother and her dad, watching in front of them as Ashley pulled Jack up to the restaurant by the hand.

"I don't know. Do you think she likes him?" Mark asked teasingly, and in spite of her nerves, Sam laughed at her niece's obvious admiration of her "Uncle Jack." The girl had good taste.

"Too bad," Jacob retorted. "I hear he might be taken already." Sam blushed as if she had a right to, and now Mark was teasing her. Wordlessly, but still, a sister knew when her brother was up to no good. Mark's smirk widened faintly, and he cleared his throat as if he was holding back. He wasn't very good at it.

"All kids love him. It's nothing new," Sam dismissed Ashley's crush.

"But not as much as Aunt Sam loves him, right?" Jacob asked, and Sam felt her flush creep from her cheeks to her neck. Her dad was pretending a little too hard now, but Sam excused herself from a response by virtue of reaching the entrance.

Stepping in to the restaurant they were seated immediately, but Jack made a detour to the restroom before everyone could pick their seats, and Sam followed.

"What?" she asked him when they were out of earshot.

"What, what?" he asked, glancing to the left and stopping outside the bathroom doors.

"What did you need to talk about?" she asked, looking over her shoulder and back to their table.

"Nothing. I need to pee," he explained pointing to the lavatory door.

"Oh. I thought it was like a sign, or something."

"Nope. Just my bladder. Try to relax, would you?" he asked her with squeeze to her shoulder. "It's gonna be fine. Jacob's a mensch." Whether he felt that or not, Sam wasn't sure, but it wouldn't be the first time that she had believed a pleasant lie from him. And it had usually worked out in their favor. Usually.

"Okay, sorry. I'll just..." Sam gestured over her shoulder but didn't move. It was a silly since it was her family, but finally she admitted it. "I don't want to go back there without you."

"Then don't. Go the bathroom," he suggested.

"Right. Good idea."

"I have some of those too, ya know."

Sam emerged from the bathroom, having taken maybe a little too long to collect herself, and saw that Jack had already gone back to their table. She approached with a smile that she hoped looked real, and pulled out the chair next to her dad.

"Ashley, honey, come sit by me," Mark told her. "Let Aunt Sam sit by Uncle Jack."

"No really, it's okay," Sam excused still standing.

"Well, I don't think so because I sit by you all the time, Daddy. This is better," Ashley decided with a look up at Jack.

"Better?" her dad asked, seeming mildly offended but amused.

"Yeah, it's just better."

"It's fine," Jacob interjected. "Trade me, Sam."

"No, dad, that's... you don't have to move," she told him.

"Don't be silly. I'm sure you want to sit next to your husband. It is your birthday, after all," Jacob told her with sparkling eyes. What exactly he meant by that, she didn't know, and even on an empty stomach, she didn't want to know.

"Thanks, dad," Sam answered trying to seem grateful, but probably failing. She knew she had asked him to play along, but now she was the one having trouble with this. It was weird to have her dad so gung-ho about the idea even if she had suspected that this was his feeling all along.

"Watch out, Jack," Jacob teased. "They've got both of your flanks."

"Yes. Lucky, lucky me," Jack answered sliding his arm around Sam's shoulders. If she didn't kill him before this day was over, it would be a miracle. The definition of 'him' was subject to change depending on the circumstances.

Carter was a wreck. Jack didn't think he would ever understand why she didn't just come clean to her brother, but he had a suspicion that there was more going on with her than just avoiding a blind date. He wasn't exactly in a position to demand an answer from her, but that didn't mean he couldn't push a little. He wasn't going to blow it for her, but if she didn't relax, she might blow it for herself.

She was nervous and fidgety. She'd jumped when the waiter asked her a question and almost tipped her water glass over onto the table. After he left, Jack bumped her knee with his under the table, drawing a look from her. He didn't have to ask her if she was all right. She knew and gave him a little nod and an attempted smile. But an attempted smile wasn't going to work under the circumstances.

"Excuse me," Jack offered the table. "Sam, can I talk to you outside?" Her surprise was evident, but she knew she didn't have a choice.

"Sorry," he offered again. "We'll just be a minute." Even though he was probably going to freeze his nuts off, he walked her out the door to the sidewalk and around the corner.

"What the heck is going on with you, Carter?" he asked, and maybe for the first time since they'd gotten out of the car she breathed, leaning against the brick restaurant behind her.

"It's weird with my dad here," she explained wrapping her arms around her sweater clad torso and avoiding his eyes.

"Did he say something?"

"No. It's just that I've never been with a guy around him, let alone my CO."

Sam had been engaged before she'd joined the Stargate program, so hearing that Jacob had never met the guy raised some red flags. Then again, the guy wasn't exactly a catch so maybe there was a reason she hadn't introduced them.

"Ever?"

"Never. It's weird," she explained, her uncomfortable gaze meeting his.

"You know," Jack began, "You could just tell them the truth."

"No," she responded vehemently. "I can't do that."

"Okay, sorry. Bad idea, I guess. But he knows it's not real so it's not like he'll be judging you right?"

"I know, but it feels weird having you touch me and..." Sam's eyes drifted away again at those words. "I don't know, maybe I'm just weird."

"You're not weird," Jack assured her, gripping her upper arms in his hands. "Let's just practice. Like before, okay?"

"Okay," she agreed and leaned back against the wall, meeting his eyes again.

"Close your eyes. Imagine Jacob sitting next to you. I'm going to kiss you. And he's going to smile and say, 'oh, isn't that nice.'"

Sam gave a huff of disbelief, but obeyed.

Jack lowered his lips to her temple, dropping a hint of a kiss there, and was pleased at the blush that rose to her cheeks.

"And then Jacob says, 'oh, isn't that nice,'" Jack told her.

Sam laughed now, and he could see some of her nerves fading finally.

"You're ridiculous," she chided him.

"Yes. Yes, I am," he agreed proudly. "Now, are you good? Are you loose? Or am I going to have to really kiss you?"

"Don't tempt me," she warned him, and that made him smile.

"Was that a 'yes'?" he led her teasingly, but only because he could see her relaxing. At least, that's what he told himself. She considered for a moment, and some of her former unease clouded her eyes again.

"Yes," she answered, and he couldn't deny her. The hint of a kiss had helped her a moment ago. Maybe they could work through this. Kissing produced those happy hormones after all. She understood it better, but it was something about balancing out the stress hormones with the, well, the sexy hormones. He couldn't deny her regardless of the science.

Jack leaned in, running a hand down her wool covered arm before he dropped his lips to hers in a succession of kisses that were completely appropriate for prime time television, but maybe not appropriate in front of his new niece and nephew. It was different in the light of day than it had been that first late night against her car—less desperate, less carefree, less private. Still, Sam's fingers, chilled either from nerves or the December nip in the air, found his neck, and she kissed him back, reaching for the connection between them, and doing something that she would probably later just call 'borrowing body heat.' Jack let her lead, knowing she needed to feel in control of something, only pulling back when he could sense her reaching an even keel.

"Oh, isn't that nice?" Jack gave a poor imitation of Jacob, but it got the point across, and she smiled into anotherkiss, during which he indulged in a flick of his tongue against her lips, eliciting a sigh from her as she opened to him. Maybe the first kiss had been for her and because of Jacob, but this second kiss was the one he wanted. It was just Sam, finally feeling like herself and issuing an all-access pass, of which Jack intended to take full advantage, dipping between her lips and hoping like hell that he would never forget her taste. This was the real kiss that had her slightly off-balance and using his body to hold her steady. Unfortunately, he needed her well-balanced and together, so with effort, he withdrew.

"Okay?" he asked, with a hand on her shoulder.

"Okay," she answered shakily. "You're my husband, and it's totally normal for you to touch me, and for me to touch you. And it's not weird that we like each other."

"Nope. Not weird."

"Totally believable, in fact. Plausible. Honestly, it's weird that it would be any other way." She was hyping herself up now, and Jack could get on board with all of those things. He'd gotten on board with them a long time ago.

"Come on. Let's go make out in front of your dad," he suggested tugging her by the hand.

"No need to get carried away," she warned him as she followed.

"Whatever. You can't stop me. You gonna pull out the old 'No, Sir'?"

"I will get you for this."

"I'd like to see you try. Fair warning: there's going to be tongue. We need to sell it."

"I hate you so much."

"No, Carter, I don't think you do."

Gods, why did it have to feel so good to have Jack's arm, warm and solid across the back of her chair? Why did his fingers drawing circles on her shoulder have to fill her mind with ideas about how easy he was making this even if she was still uncomfortable with her dad's too observant eyes on his fingers and on their faces. Sam could see her dad pulling every detail into an immutable file in his mind. What would he be thinking about her the next time they were on a mission together?

Sam wanted to worry about it, but another thought swirling through her mind like Jack's fingers on her shoulder was that she should feel weird. She had lied to him just a little. It was weird to be with a guy, particularly with him, in front of her dad. But what was weirder was that it didn't feel weird. It felt like Jack's arm was supposed to be around her shoulders. It was weird that it felt normal, and Jack was too good at making it seem like they did this every day.

"I can't believe you didn't tell me about the wedding," Jacob started.

"There was really nothing to tell, Dad," Sam assured him. "Just a courthouse thing."

"The party doesn't make the event, sweetheart."

"I told you we should have invited them," Jack scolded her.

"We didn't want to wait," Sam justified.

"Any particular reason?" Jacob asked with a grin folding his hands in front of him on the table. "Any little O'Neills I should know about on the way?"

"Oh my god, Dad," Sam brushed a hand over her face, but Jack just grinned and pressed a kiss to her temple.

"Not yet, Jacob," Jack assured him. "But we've been diligently working on it."

"Can we not discuss the contents of my uterus at the lunch table?" Sam asked them both.

"At least we didn't say 'uterus.'" Jack's fingers were massaging the back of her neck now, and if she didn't have way too many eyes on her right now the way his fingers artfully found the right muscles, pulling the tension down and out of her body would have rolled her eyes back in her head in appreciation.

Since she did have eyes on her, she was finding it a little hard to relax still. Jack was still laying it on a little too thick, and her dad was just watching like the cat that got the cream. Honestly, she wasn't sure who she was performing for because now that Jack had turned his attention on her, Ashley had shifted and had Mark completely occupied.

"Thanks. I think."

Their meal arrived mercifully quickly, giving Jack something to do with his hands besides touch her, and she relaxed enough to eat half of her sandwich and contemplate the horror of her CO telling her dad that he was trying to impregnate her before Jack leaned over and whispered in her ear.

"Do I need to kiss you again?"

"What?" she asked aloud, drawing her brother's eyes from across the table so Sam slipped her mask into place. "Sorry, I must have been daydreaming."

"That's never happened before," Mark teased.

"Thanks, I'm fine," Sam answered with a showy smile, turning to Jack.

"Just say the word. You know how I love to help."

"Yes, Sir." Jack's eyes went wide, and Jacob glanced over quickly. Thankfully, Mark hadn't seemed to notice her slip. This whole thing was getting out of hand, and Sam was thinking very seriously of coming clean when she felt Jack's hand bump her leg under the table. It wasn't for show. No one would notice besides her, but he did it anyway. He wasn't performing. He was just being there for her. For real.

Slipping her hand under the table she squeezed his fingers, and noticed that he seemed to not want to let go. In fact, when he did let go, he rested his palm on her leg. If he was trying to calm her down it was working. She was unsure about calling it off before, but now she knew. She had already put Jack through so much grief for her ridiculous plan, and she wasn't going to throw that back in his face by quitting now.

Needing the familiarity, she tipped her head onto his shoulder just for a moment, and if he hadn't so successfully calmed her nerves, she could have cried when his arm slipped around her waist.

Jacob's smug knowing grin was still on her as if he could somehow see through solid objects to Jack's fingers that were brushing up and down her side. Mark's grin met her dad's as a slice of cake with a solitary candle was served in front of her from a smiling waiter who quickly dismissed himself.

"Dad, you didn't have to do this. It's just a birthday," Sam blushed at him.

"Just a birthday?" Jacob argued."It's not every day your little girl turns thirty-six."

"Keep your voice down, would you? Nobody needs to know how old I am."

"When you're my age, we'll talk. But I didn't tell anyone."

"You didn't?" Sam looked at Mark who wasn't even paying attention anymore, but was instead trying to reset Michael's Gameboy. With a squeeze of Jack's fingers at her waist, Sam looked up at his laughing brown eyes.

"Happy birthday," he winked at her. Sam knew she should try to maintain her composure. It was just a piece of cake. But it wasn't really about the cake. There were other reasons she hadn't wanted to do the setup her brother had in mind, and they weren't about her pride or being annoyed by a blind date. It wasn't just about those things, but Sam wasn't ready to put the other reasons into words, even in her mind.

Instead, reaching for Jack and putting everything else out of her mind, Sam kissed him. Reveling in his surprise, and taking things a little too far, she kissed him until she felt in control. It was just a moment really, but when she pulled away from him and opened her eyes, she could see from the crease between his eyes that her sense of control had cost him something. Sam didn't think anyone else had noticed his surprise, but they certainly had noticed the kiss. Quickly, he hid away whatever emotion had flitted across his face, recovering and clearing his throat in time to deflect attention.

"We should have cake more often."