Disclaimer Stargate Sg-1 and its characters are the property of Stargate (II) Productions, Showtime/Viacom, MGM/UA, Double Secret Productions, and Gekko Productions. This story is for entertainment purposes only and no money exchanged hands. No copyright infringement is intended. The original characters, situations, and story are the property of the author. This story may not be posted elsewhere without the consent of the author.

"Here is fine," Jack said, instructing his driver where to pull over and let him out.

"Yes, sir," the young sergeant dutifully replied, carefully steering the vehicle to the curb. The kid was young, he looked like he was barely old enough to drive. He was definitely new. Jack availed himself of the drivers at Peterson often enough to be familiar with the young men and women charged with motor pool duties and he didn't recognize this one.

The ability to catch a hop and get a ride to and from the base was definitely one of the more useful perks of his new job, and one that Jack took advantage of at every opportunity. In fact, it was one of his requirements for taking his new position.

The President wanted him to run Homeworld Security, fine. But he had to accept that Jack's private life was going to take precedence. Sam, and his life with her, was his priority and the day old Hank couldn't accept that was the day Jack handed in his resignation.

Hence the fact that Jack had an office at Peterson, and an office at the Pentagon. His Colorado office could have been at the SGC but Jack shot that idea down. It wouldn't have been fair to Landry. Jack knew that if he was there and accessible people would come to him about things instead of following the appropriate chain of command which would severely undermine Landry's authority. The SGC was now Landry's baby and he deserved the chance to run it without interference.

"As you were," Jack said, seeing the sergeant reach for his seat belt.

"Yes, sir." He twisted in his seat. "Do you need a ride back, sir?"

"I'll call," Jack said. He had a week's leave for the holidays and honestly had no idea when he was going back to work. If things were quiet in DC, he might just work at his Peterson office and if he did that, he'd drive himself.

"Yes, sir. I'll tell Captain Gunderson."

Jack gathered his bag and briefcase and opened the car door, unable to suppress a shiver as the frigid air poured in. He got out of the car, slipping his cover on before he kicked the car door shut.

The staff car pulled away and Jack trudged up the short walk. This house bore little resemblance to the one he'd sold last year. It was nestled into the foothills of the mountains and stood in the middle of 46 acres of grass and forest, much of which was brown now, winter having bled the color from the landscape. The house was an older, blocky two story dwelling complete with wrap around porch and a couple of out buildings.

It was the kind of home he'd never imagined owning, but somehow it just seemed right. There were a few neighbors around, namely the Barkers a mile down the road, but none of them were too close, granting Jack a fantastic level of privacy.

Climbing the flight of stairs onto the porch, Jack dug in his pocket and pulled out his keys. He unlocked the door and walked inside, sniffing appreciatively at the spicy aroma of homemade chili. He quickly shucked his coat, setting it and his briefcase into the hall closet. He picked up his small bag and made his way into the living room, frowning at the sight of a large Christmas tree perched in the corner. A few ornaments hung from its branches as did several strands of tinsel.

"Sam?" Jack called out, setting his bag down.

"You're home early," she said, walking out from the kitchen. She made her way to his side and gave him a quick kiss.

"The advantage of being the boss, I can give myself time off." He frowned as she walked past him, a box of ornaments in her hand. Jack recognized them as some of his, things from his house that he'd moved to his and Sam's home. And things that he'd kept more out of habit than the idea that they'd be used.

"So," he asked, keeping his voice casual. "Whatcha doing?"

"Decorating the Christmas tree," she said, smiling at him as she hung some of the glass balls on the branches. She was dressed casually, in jeans and a long fleece pullover with fluffy slippers on her feet.

"Yeah, figured that out," he said, moving over to join her. "Dare I ask why?"

"You can ask," she said, smiling cheekily at him. "But I'm not in the mood to tell."

Jack shrugged. "Ok." In the year that he and Sam had been married Jack had gotten used to her odd moods and unique quirks. He'd learned never to question her when she got up at 0300 to work on some theory and that it was definitely best not to mention the absurdity of chasing an ice cream sundae with a diet soda.

Of course, she turned a blind eye to the cancelled dinners and over long phone calls and tolerantly dressed up to attend one of the many functions his job now required. Not to mention dealing with him working hundreds of miles away for days at a time.

Whomever had said that marriage was compromise certainly knew their stuff. Jack found that he enjoyed the compromise. He liked the give and take and hell, even took pleasure in the fights. Or, to be more accurate the making up that followed their fights.

They still had their moments, such as six months ago when a malfunctioning gate had kept Sam stranded off world for the better part of a month. And there was the time when Jack missed their anniversary, a security lock down keeping him trapped in his office.

"Need some help?" he offered, reaching out to take the box of ornaments from her.

"That'd be good," she said, handing them over. "If you want to finish this, I'm going to go put the last touches on dinner."

"You know, I have about six more boxes of ornaments downstairs," he said, looking closely at the tree. The branches certainly weren't bare, but they also weren't what he'd consider fully decorated either.

"I think that's enough," she said. "Besides it'll be pretty when we plug the lights in."
She retreated into the kitchen and Jack shrugged, giving into her logic. Hell, he was incredibly surprised to have a tree in the house and wasn't going to quibble over whether or not it had enough decorations on it.

As he stepped around the tree, searching for just the right place to put each glass ball he found that there were a few rather special ornaments already hanging from the branches. He saw a small white angel hanging a precise forty-five degrees from the cookie monster ornament he'd given Sam years ago.

He grinned, remembering the day she and Teal'c had baked cookies, taking it upon themselves to open up his office for a holiday open house. He could still taste those chocolate chip cookies. Maybe if he sweet talked her Sam could make some this weekend.

"I'm guessing you want a beer," Sam said, rejoining him.

"Sounds good," Jack said, quickly hanging the last two ornaments. So they weren't perfectly balanced on the tree. It kinda looked better that way anyway.

"I'll be right back."

She set his beer down on the table along with a glass of what he guessed to be diet Coke and returned to the kitchen. Jack followed, almost running into her when she appeared with a plate in each hand. "I got it," he said, taking the plate from her. A bowl was balanced on each plate, along with a handful of saltine crackers and a spoon. Sam's chili was topped with a large mound of grated cheese, a taste sensation he just couldn't get into so his was plain.

"Thanks." She smiled, following him back into the living room. They each took a seat, balancing the plates on their laps. Their house had a lovely dining room but they didn't use it very often, both preferring the casualness of eating in the living room.

They chatted while they ate, confirming their plans for the upcoming holiday. Daniel and Teal'c were due to come over for dinner tomorrow night and Jack warned Sam that
George was also returning to the Springs for the holiday. The retired general's plans were to spend much of the time with his grandchildren but Jack had convinced the man that he needed to come visit is second family.

"So," Jack said, scooping up the last of his chili. "I'm kinda curious."

"Oh, gee, that never happens," she quipped, setting her spoon down on her plate.

"Sam, seriously. Why the tree?" he asked.

She pushed herself up off the sofa, carefully balancing her plate. "Cause I felt like it," she said, reaching out to take his plate from him.

Jack tightened his grip on the plate. "You felt like it?" he asked, puzzled by her answer and her attitude.

"I felt like it," she insisted, giving the plate a tug. Jack let go and Sam retreated to the kitchen amid a clatter of spoons and bowls. He followed behind her and watched as she rinsed the plates before putting them in the dishwasher.

"Are you sure you're feeling ok?" he asked, reaching out to take her hand. He propped his butt against the counter and pulled her close so that she was standing between his spread legs. Her arms drifted up around his neck while his settled around her waist.

"I am perfectly healthy," she said, giving him a kiss. "Even the doctor says so."

"Doctor?" Jack asked, concerned.

"Just my yearly physical," she reassured.

"Ok," he said, not feeling as reassured as he thought he should be feeling. There was something off in her behavior, something he just couldn't quite put his fingers on.

"Oh. I got you something today," she said, pulling back.

"Been hitting the mall again have we?" he asked. "I don't suppose Vicky's Secrets was on your shopping list."

"You wish," she said, batting at him playfully. "Dirty old man," she chided, extricating herself from his arms.

"Everybody's gotta have a hobby," he called after her, following her out into the livingroom. She reached up on the mantle and pulled down a small red box that she'd hidden behind the picture from their wedding. That 8x10 picture of the whole wedding party, him and Sam, Daniel, Teal'c, Jonas, George, Cassie and Sam's family stood beside the small horse statue she'd given him a few years before.

"Here you go," she said, handing the box to him. It was made of shiny cardboard and was a little larger than his hand, probably large enough to hold a half dozen decks of cards.

Jack shook it, grinning at the exasperated look on her face. "You can never be too careful," he quipped. She rolled her eyes and Jack grinned, contemplating dragging things out a bit further. Then again, he was spending the next week with her and if he wanted to have sex anytime soon, it was best never to tick her off too much.

He opened the box and frowned, wondering what kind of joke she was playing. "Gee, thanks hon but…something new you're working on?" he asked, pulling out a pair of miniature boots. "A way to avoid schlepping those heavy packs over rough terrain?"

"I'm not going to be doing any schlepping for a while," she said, moving close to him.

Jack looked down at the tiny boots in his hand, another meaning occurring to him. They weren't just a miniature version of combat boots, they were…"Sam?"

"That's why I figure I better get into Christmas. We're gonna have a lot of them to come and our kids aren't gonna be the only ones on the block that don't believe in Santa Claus," she said, smiling broadly.

"You're-"

She nodded. "I think you better tell the President that you're taking June off, July too, maybe Aug… oof."

Her words cut off at he pulled her into his arms, crushing her against him. "We're pregnant, we're pregnant," he exclaimed, lifting her off her feet and swinging her around, the baby boots and box falling to the floor.

"You're gonna be cleaning up chili off the carpet if you don't put me down," she laughed.

Jack set her down and held her at arms' length. "Oh, god, I'm sorry," he apologized.

"You're fine, I'm fine, we're fine." She held her hand over her abdomen and Jack stared, still not quite able to wrap his mind around the fact that he was going to be a father again.

"We," he said, discovering again just how much he loved that word.

Sam nodded and Jack laid his hand over hers, doing what he could to cradle the precious gift that she cradled inside her. "You're ok with this?" she asked, unease and uncertainly creeping into her voice.

"I'm more than ok," he said. "This…YOU are perfect. Absolutely perfect and you've just made me the happiest man on the face of the earth."

She fell into his arms and Jack closed his eyes, savoring the sensations of her, of them in his grasp. "I love you," he said, unashamed of the tears that clogged his throat.

He had no idea precisely what the future would hold, but knew that as long as he had her, had them, there wouldn't be anything they couldn't handle.

~Fin~

That's it. The End. Finito. Finished. Over. Done. Complete. Put to bed. Laid to rest.

My sincere thanks to everyone who's sent me feedback for this series. It was a blast to write and I'm very glad that it found a broad appeal.

Feedback:sky_diver119@yahoo.com

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