Category: D/S
Rating: PG
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.
Season: Ten years in the future.
Author's Notes: This started out as a songfic, inspired by Savage Garden's "I Don't Know You Anymore". Somewhere along the line, Confederate Railroad came onto my tape player and that's the song that got stuck in my head and into the story. What can I say, I have a weakness for depressing country music….

Jack was usually a fast driver. Well, fast was an understatement really. His passengers were usually to be found clutching their armrest with one hand, rosary beads in the other, sweating profusely with jaws clenched. His Black Ops buddies used to tell him that he drove like he fought, like he thought, full on, foot to the floor, no compromises. His way or no way.

If they could only see him now.

He'd changed a lot in the years since he'd retired the first time. Even more since he'd retired the second time. He listened to people more, thought about what they said, took their opinions on board. He'd rarely done that before, he'd considered it a weakness. And besides, everything had always worked out fine, right?

He'd forgotten about the law of averages, the one that says that if you toss a coin into the air a hundred times, it might fall heads up ninety-nine times, but one of those times, it's going to come up tails. That was his military career in one simple analogy. But it would have been fine, it still would have been ok.

If only he'd been the one to take the fall.

If he'd been the one who was affected.

But it hadn't been him. Someone else had been hurt by what he did. Someone else's life torn apart. Someone he cared about.

How do you deal with ruining someone's life? An enemy, no problem. A slimy Goa'uld? Ditto. But a friend?

None of his Black Ops training had trained him for that. It hadn't worked with Charlie and it hadn't worked then.

After Charlie died, he'd run to Abydos on what he thought was a suicide mission. When things had gone wrong ten years ago, he'd run again. Not through the Stargate. He'd just got into his car and kept on driving.

He couldn't live with what he'd done.

And now, ten years later, he'd decided that he had to do something about it. He couldn’t say exactly why then, why not sooner or later. Maybe it was something about the word "decade" and that it had been that long since he'd had any semblance of peace in his life.

Maybe he just wanted to see everyone again.

So he was driving slowly this morning, partly because he was in no real hurry to get where he was going. It had waited ten years after all. The fact that he was holding a map in one hand, with a post-it note with an address stuck on it had something to do with it too. And the fact that he was playing around with the radio stations constantly was also a factor. He couldn't seem to decide on what he wanted to hear - fast, slow, rock, whatever. At the moment, it was a male vocal, country sounding, warbling something profound and pathetic by the sounds of it.

Snorting in disgust as he recognised the song and his mind finished off the chorus, he changed the station. That kind of sentiment wasn't what he wanted to hear right now. Not when he was returning home after leaving in dubious circumstances. Not when he was trying to rebuild bridges he'd burned…. or at least singed.

He didn't want to entertain any negative thoughts.

But he couldn't help remembering the rest of that song. It was stuck in his head, repeating over and over…

>*<*>*<

It wasn't until mid-afternoon that he reached his destination at last, finally pulling up outside a spacious bungalow, in the middle of a cul-de-sac full of houses of similar size and appearance. He looked around as he got out of the car, imaging the kind of people who lived there - families mostly, young couples with two or three kids, and a dog, possibly a guinea pig or two. He'd once had a house just like that, with a wife and child and dog. But that was a long time ago.

Slowly, he walked up the drive, knocked on the door. He was surprised to note the tremor in his hand as he reached up to do so, surprised that his heart was pounding and his mouth was dry. Compared to this, facing a pissed-off Goa'uld was a piece of cake.

The door swung open, and he prepared himself for a thousand different reactions, all of them bad, as he looked into a face from his past. "Hello Sam."

She hadn't changed in all this time - she looked as she looked in his memories, in his dreams - his happy dreams, not the nightmares that woke him up intermittently. The major difference was that her hair was longer now….not as long as the alternative universe Sam Carter he had once met, but brushing her shoulders. It suited her. She looked healthy…happy….or she had, until she realised that it was him. Or maybe that was just his imagination?

She stared at him for what seemed to him like an eternity, and he wondered, not for the first time, if this had been a really bad idea. Then she seemed to relax, and even half smiled at him. "Somehow," she said, "I thought it would be you." He didn't say anything and she continued to regard him thoughtfully for a few moments, before continuing. "You'd better come in."

Turning her wheelchair around she moved away from the door, apparently confident that he'd follow her.

This time, he didn't let her down.

>*<*>*<

They sat on the back porch, sipping coffee, looking out over the signs of spring marking the back yard. They'd filled mugs on the way out with coffee from the always-on percolator in the kitchen - Jack had smiled when he saw that; it was good to know that some things hadn't changed in ten years. They sat in silence at first, content to be in each other's company after so long.

Predictably, it was Jack who spoke first. "How did you know it was me?"

She shrugged. "I always knew you'd come back someday. I never doubted it." Another shrug. "And then, today….I just knew." She met his gaze. "It's ten years."

Jack closed his eyes as her words conjured up an assault of images….the argument between him and Daniel about the best way to proceed when the mission was going wrong, his insistence that he was right and they should stay…..the flashes of light and the blast of bullets when Daniel was proved right….Sam's body, lying bloody and still on the ground, and the terror in her eyes as she lay on the ramp in the SGC, holding Daniel's hand in a tight death-grip. He shook his head to clear it, tried to get his thoughts in order. "It was my fault."

Now it was Sam's turn to shake her head. "You weren't the one who fired the explosives Jack. It was just one of those things."

"I could have stopped it…Daniel was right, we should have got out of there long before it got that far."

"I was a soldier Jack." If Sam noticed him wince as she used the past tense, she passed no heed to it. "Every time I went through the Stargate, I knew the risks." Unconsciously, she ran her hands over the arms of the chair. "It wasn't your fault."

Jack shook his head. "You say that now. You lost everything that day Sam. How can you sit there and be so calm?"

Sam opened her mouth and closed it again a couple of times before finally speaking. "Are you serious? I've had ten years to come to terms with this…life goes on. My life has gone on." Her eyes flashed, and he had no doubt that she would have hauled off and slugged him if he were any closer to her. "And what the hell do you mean, I lost everything that day? I lost the use of my legs Jack….that's all."

"That's all?" For some reason that he couldn't fathom, Sam took one look at his face, heard his scandalised reaction, and shook her head, chuckling softly. "This is funny to you?"

"No, no," Sam reigned herself in. "I was just remembering a conversation I had just like this…." Her voice trailed off as she lost herself in memory……

Sam came back to reality, realising too late from the look on Jack's face that that story had made him feel even worse. As if blaming himself wasn't bad enough, he was probably now comparing himself unfavourably with Daniel. She paused, unsure of what to say, not knowing what would make him feel better. She ended up speaking from the heart. "You didn't have to go."

He looked up at her, meeting her gaze for the first time since she'd begun her story. A bitter smile flitted across his face briefly, was gone before it had time to register. "I couldn't stay. Not knowing that I was to blame."

"That's why you should have stayed."

"So that you could hate me?"

"So that I could tell you that you weren't to blame. So that I could do whatever it took to make you believe that."

He shook his head, for the first time admitting the weakness that no amount of miles or years had let him escape from. "It hurt too much."

His voice was so soft she'd hardly been able to hear him, and her voice was gentle, but strong when she answered him. "It can't have been any harder than staying here and working through it." A pause. "With us."

"Oh, I dunno. You seem to have done pretty well."

Sam's jaw clenched at the tone of his voice, but she reined in her temper. "We did ok," she allowed. "But it would have been easier if we hadn't had to deal with losing you too." She moved closer to him, reaching out to take his hand. "We needed you Jack. Almost as much as you needed us."

Whatever Jack was going to respond was lost amid the mists of time as a door slammed inside the house, and a familiar voice called out, "Honey, we're home!"

Jack couldn't help but notice how a contented smile broke over Sam's face, any trace of tension vanishing. "On the back porch," she called back.

The door swung open, and a child of about five or six, Jack wasn't sure, came running out. She made a beeline straight for Sam and flung her arms around her neck. "Mommy, look what I did at school!" She thrust a drawing into Sam's hands, and set about telling her exactly what it was. She was halfway through her explanation before she realised that she had an audience, and when she did, she instantly buried her head in Sam's neck. Sam smiled at Jack before kissing the little girl on the top of her head.

Just then, the first voice that Jack had heard called out again. "Whose car is that out front Sam?" His voice preceded him out to the porch, and his eyes widened in surprise when he saw who was standing there. "Jack."

Jack looked at the man who had once been his best friend. If the only change the years had made in Sam was the length of her hair, it hadn't even made that change in Daniel. He looked just as he had looked ten years before when they saved the world on a regular basis. Still, even though he looked the same, Jack couldn't help but be a little nervous. How would Daniel react to seeing him after all this time? Especially if he blamed him for what happened to Sam?

He needn't have worried. Daniel hesitated for all of five seconds before walking over to Jack and engulfing him in a hug. When the younger man pulled away, he was blinking back tears, and so was Sam. "It's good to see you," Daniel finally told him.

"You too."

Daniel nodded, apparently at a loss for words. What did you say in a situation like that? He looked over to Sam for guidance, and smiled at the sight of a small blonde head hiding behind the chair. "Gracie? C'mon Gracie, don't be shy." Jack started momentarily, recalling Daniel using the exact same phrases to someone else a lifetime ago, on Abydos. Upon hearing her father's voice, the little girl came out from her hiding place and took the hand he offered her. "This is Jack….he and your mom and I used to work together a long time ago. Are you gonna say hi?"

"Hi." The girl was nothing if not obedient Jack noted, and he also noted that she had Sam's silky blonde hair and Daniel's blue eyes. She was a perfect blend of her parents, and he felt a huge smile come to his face.

"Hello Gracie."

Evidently, that was as conversational as Gracie got, because she returned to where she'd been when Daniel first came out. Sam and Daniel shared a knowing smile, and Jack could have sworn some silent communication passed between them. "Why don't we go inside for a snack Gracie? Leave the boys to talk." Gracie nodded, and smiling, Sam led her inside. As she passed Daniel, he let a hand drop momentarily onto her shoulder, and Sam flashed a quick grin at him before continuing on. Jack had seen that grin a thousand times on missions - happy, relaxed, confident. He'd never realised how much he missed it.

When Sam and Gracie had gone in, Daniel looked out over the back garden, hands in his jeans pockets, not saying anything. Jack adopted a similar posture, remembering in spite of himself how many times they'd stood like that.

"Ten years." Daniel was the first to speak.

"Yep."

"That's a long time."

"That it is."

"A lot's happened."

"I can see that."

"It wouldn't have killed you to get in touch. A postcard or something."

Jack shrugged, measured his words carefully. "See, I was afraid that it might've."

Daniel looked over at him. "So that's why you ran out on your friends….your family….and disappeared for ten years?"

"I didn't entirely disappear." Jack hated himself for saying it, but then Daniel had always been able to put him on the defensive like that….one of the things he both admired and hated in his little Space Monkey.

"Checking in with Teal'c every couple of months doesn't constitute not disappearing." Was that a grin peeking through Daniel's irritation?

"He told you huh?"

A wry chuckle escaped Daniel's lips. "Sam made it quite clear that wheelchair or not, she'd be only too happy to go to hand-to-hand combat with him if he didn't."

Any joviality that memories may have stirred in Jack dissipated in the late afternoon breeze at the mention of the wheelchair. "I thought you'd blame me," he admitted quietly.

Daniel nodded, and Jack knew that he'd suspected as much. "I didn't blame you for her getting hurt Jack. I blamed you for hurting her."

A frown and tilt of the head was Jack's immediate reaction as he made sense of that. "See, that's the kind of double talk I missed."

"And there's the sarcasm I missed." Daniel looked up to the sky, formulating his thoughts. "It was an accident Jack. Not your fault."

"That's what she said."

"She never blamed you. Not once."

"But you did."

"Not for the accident. For what happened afterwards. Do you know how much it hurt her when you left? It hurt all of us," he quickly amended. "But Sam especially. She thought she'd driven you away. It took her a while to realise why you left. But that didn't make it easier."

Jack looked down at his shoes. They needed a polish. "I wish I'd known that."

"If you'd stayed long enough to talk, you would have." There was more than mild reproach in Daniel's tone.

"I know that it was hard for you…"

Daniel didn't let him get any further. "No Jack, you don't. You weren't there when Sam came home from the hospital. When she woke up screaming….or worse, crying. Even our wedding day…..it was the happiest I think I've ever been. Or at least until the day Gracie was born. But it still wasn't perfect. You know why? Because in the back of our heads was always the thought, I wish Jack were here to see this."

His ire evidently spent, Daniel took a deep breath, let it out, then repeated the process. Silence reigned for what seemed like forever before he spoke again.

"She always knew you'd come back."

Jack smiled inwardly. Nothing had changed here either - no matter how annoyed Daniel was at him, once he had vented his anger, it was as if nothing had happened. "Well, she's quite a woman."

"Yes. Yes, she is." Jack sneaked a look at Daniel, and knew the kind of thoughts that were going through the younger man's head by the faraway look in his eyes, the loving smile on his face. He'd once looked at Sara like that.

"Cute kid, by the way. How old?"

The biggest smile that Jack had ever seen split Daniel's face. "Almost six."

"She's kinda quiet."

"That's only because she doesn’t know you. Just wait until she does."

If Jack objected to Daniel presuming that he was going to stay around, there was no mention of it. "You got any more?"

Daniel shook his head, serious for a moment. "No. We weren't sure if we'd be able to have kids at all….you know…." His gaze moved to the door into the house, then back to Jack. "We tried for three years before Gracie…and after, but no luck."

"I'm sorry." Jack had always pictured Daniel as someone who'd have a whole gaggle of kids running after him.

Daniel shook his head, dismissing any dark thoughts. "No. We have Gracie. We're lucky."

Jack looked at his friend, then retraced his gaze to the house. "That you are Danny. That you are."

>*<*>*<

Lots of things hadn't changed in ten years as Jack discovered, but one thing that definitely had was Sam's prowess in the kitchen. Back in the day, she had barely been able to master the toaster. Now, her dinners were not only homemade and edible, but delicious. She insisted that he stay for dinner, and he spent most of the time observing the interaction between Sam, Daniel and their daughter - he especially found himself observing Gracie. He'd often wondered what kind of kids Sam and Daniel would have had - although for a long time, he'd never thought that they'd have one together. But somehow, they had, and he had to admit, Gracie was as near to a perfect blend of the two of them as he could imagine. Already that day, she'd exhibited her mother's stubbornness when she decided that she wanted to help Sam serve up dinner, and woe unto the adult who tried to convince her that something was too heavy for her to carry! Then, when she'd decided that she liked Jack, she inundated him with questions about himself, and hardly stopped chattering for a minute, much as Daniel used to do.

When she was to the point of falling asleep, Sam finally convinced her that she should go to bed, and spirited her off. Daniel and Jack shared a grin, and it was like no time had passed since they'd last seen each other. "She's a heck of a kid," Jack said.

Daniel smiled, taking a sip of his coffee. "She keeps us busy."

Jack nodded. He looked over at Daniel, curiosity etched all over his features. "Do you miss it?"

Daniel thought it over, knowing what he meant. Weighing his answer carefully, he finally spoke. "I think Sam misses it more than I do. She never planned on being a full time housewife. And I enjoy teaching….I did it before, it wasn't so hard to go back to it. We've got time to spend with Gracie, and each other…."

"But do you miss it?"

Daniel knew that Jack wasn't going to let him off the hook on this one. "Sometimes. Exploring new worlds, discovering ancient civilisations….it was an archaeologist's dream. But we knew the dangers when we got into it. And now…" He shook his head emphatically. "I have a wife I love. I have a daughter I adore. I enjoy my work. In a different way. I'm happy Jack."

Jack nodded, expecting the answer. "And I'm happy for you."

Their conversation was interrupted when Sam came back. "She wants a story from her daddy."

Daniel stood, shrugging at Jack. "My boss calls."

"No aliens, no blood, no gore." Sam instructed her husband as he walked past her. "I want her to sleep tonight."

Jack watched her as she manoeuvred herself onto the couch, folding her chair with facility when she was comfortable. "He tells her ghost stories too huh?" He remembered Daniel's fondness from many a campfire.

Sam laughed. "You wouldn't believe it. And she eggs him on….then we're woken up by her in the middle of the night when she can't go back to sleep after a nightmare."

"And you love it."

Sam grinned brightly. "I wouldn't have it any other way."

Jack leaned forward in his chair, his eyes boring like lasers into hers. "Do you miss it?"

Sam took a deep breath, let it out again slowly. "I miss it," she finally admitted simply. "The Air Force was my life for a long time. But things changed."

"Because of the accident."

"In part," Sam allowed. "But I guess a part of me always knew that eventually I'd walk away from the program." She tried not to notice how Jack cringed at her choice of words. "I didn't think it'd be something like this. But I knew that if I ever met someone, if I ever got married, had kids, that I'd have to, even if only temporarily."

"And now?"

"Strange as it sounds…."Sam kept her head level, looking steadily at Jack, never breaking eye contact. Somehow, she knew that this was what he needed to hear. "Sometimes….I remember the way things were. And I wish we could go back. But then I look at what I have now….and I wouldn't change a thing Jack. I really mean that."

"Even the accident?"

Sam nodded, then paused. "There is one thing I'd change." Her voice was soft, so soft Jack could barely hear her. He raised an eyebrow in silent question as she turned her own laser like gaze on him. "I'd have made you stay."

The silence that her words generated was abruptly shattered as Daniel came back into the room. "She's sound asleep….I did what you…said…." His voice trailed off as he noticed the tension, the emotion in the room. "Am I….interrupting….anything?"

"Don't be silly, it's your house." Jack forced joviality into his voice, and did quite a good job of it. "Sit down, take a load off."

Still looking faintly uncertain, Daniel did as he was told, settling down on the couch beside his wife. One arm automatically went around her shoulders, and she leaned back into his embrace. "I meant to ask you…how did you find us?"

"Teal'c."

Daniel smiled. "I should have known."

"He told me a long time ago. Told me to look you up." He considered his words carefully before continuing. "He sent me your wedding invitation."

Sam and Daniel exchanged a look. "We didn't know if you'd come…." Sam began.

"We hoped you would…." Daniel continued. "We even kept a space free at the table for you."

"Yeah well…."

Daniel could see how uncomfortable Jack was, so he quickly changed the subject. "Did you know Cassie is graduating college this year?"

"She is?"

"Yep. She's going to be a doctor."

"Just what the world needs….another Doctor Fraiser." What seemed like hundred of medicals flashed through Jack's mind. "How is Janet? Still torturing unsuspecting SGC teams?"

Sam laughed as Daniel nodded, each recalling the complaints that Daniel and Jack had had about Janet's needle happy tendencies, a source of amusement to Sam and Janet, as well as Cassandra. "She's still working there, if that's what you mean. And she's great, Cassie too."

"You guys keep in touch?"

Daniel snorted. "Look at our phone bill sometime." That comment earned him a smack on the arm from his wife.

"Yes, we do. And they come out here sometimes, and we go back there. It's almost like old times."

Jack frowned at her phrasing. "They? You mean Janet and Cassie?"

Sam nodded. "And Teal'c."

"Teal'c?"

Sam and Daniel looked at him, then at each other, identical "oops" expressions on their faces. "You mean….Teal'c didn’t mention it?" Daniel chose his words carefully.

"Mention what?" A certain suspicion was taking root in Jack's mind, and he wasn't sure it was one he was comfortable with. For their part, Sam and Daniel just stared at him, waiting for the penny to drop, which wasn't long in happening. "You're kidding me, right? You are kidding me."

Two heads shook in perfect harmony, obviously enjoying the effect that little bombshell was having on him. "Guess I've a lot of catching up to do."

>*<*>*<

They stayed up late that night, talking, laughing, filling Jack in on all that had happened in his absence, and reflecting on old times. Eventually, Sam was falling asleep on Daniel's shoulder, and decided that she'd call it a night. Agreeing that it was a good idea, Daniel asked Jack if he'd like to stay in the guestroom. Jack balked at first, not wanting to put them out. That was when Daniel insisted, and Jack, not wanting to cause a fight, for once, gave in.

Daniel slept soundly that night - he always did. It was with some surprise then, that his slumber was interrupted by Sam, moving restlessly beside him, muttering unintelligible words under her breath. He was just about to wake her when she woke herself, sitting bolt upright, breathing hard. Two wide and terrified blue eyes locked on to his, and he didn't even try to keep the worry out of his voice as he took her into his arms. "Are you ok?" He had good reason to be surprised - neither of them had had their sleep disturbed by nightmares for many years.

"I'm ok." Her denial was automatic, and she sensed his disbelief. "I will be," she amended, pressing herself closer to him.

His hand was moving through her hair as his chin rested on top of her head, and she could tell from the set of his body how tense he was. "You dreamed about the accident?" She didn't need to nod, but did anyway. "I guess we know what brought that on."

"Daniel…."

It was a warning he didn't heed. "Sam, I'm glad to see him again as well, you know that. But…after this…I'm just wondering if it's a good thing for you."

"It is Daniel. I needed to see him."

"You did?" Sam lifted her head, and had to laugh at his expression. Eyes squinted, lips pursed, frowning, his confused look never failed to make her smile. There was something else behind the confusion though, something that came along every now and then, and never ceased to amaze her when it did.

"You're not going to get all jealous on me again are you?"

"I'm not jealous."

She laughed quietly, knowing that he mightn't necessarily be jealous, but that he was put out at her words. "Daniel….I love you. And I love our life. And I've been so happy for the last ten years. You know that."

"Yes. Yes, I do." He sighed. "But I also know that there's been something missing."

Sam nodded. "Seeing him again…it closes everything, you know? It's like I've finally got all my family back."

"And you didn't realise how much was missing…."

"….Until it knocked on the door."

"You think he's going to stick around? Stay in touch?" Daniel wondered eventually.

"I hope so. He needs us too."

"You think?"

Her voice was emphatic. "Can't you see it in him? He's blamed himself for what happened to me for the past ten years. And before that, he blamed himself for what happened to Charlie. He needs to know that it wasn't his fault….and that I didn't fall apart. That my life went on."

"I know that. I do. It's just…."

"Daniel…." She silenced him with a kiss. "I'll be fine. I've got you haven't I?"

Daniel smiled and returned her kiss. "We should get back to sleep," he finally told her, a half-smile on his face.

She didn't let him down. "Who needs sleep?"

>*<*>*<

When Daniel next woke, birdsong was filtering through the windows, and early morning sun was lighting up the room. If Daniel was any judge, it was going to be a beautiful day. Staring down at Sam's sleeping form, he mentally willed her not to wake up. He could spend forever looking at her like this. Some mornings, it seemed to work, but this wasn't one of them. She blinked sleepily and smiled up at him. "Morning.'

"Morning." Daniel lowered his head and kissed her lips quickly. "You ok?" She shot him the look of death, and he changed the subject. "Looks like a great day."

Sam began to agree, then changed her mind, sniffing suspiciously. "Do you smell that?"

Daniel took a deep breath, then raised an eyebrow. He didn't say anything, just got out of bed and began to dress. Sam followed his lead. "Wait for me!"

>*<*>*<

When they got to the kitchen, they stared in shock at the sight that awaited them. Gracie was sitting on the countertop, giggling hysterically, as Jack, wearing the frilled, flowery apron that Daniel had once given Sam as a joke, made omelettes with as much flair as he could muster, all the while affecting a not-too-bad French accent.

"What are you doing?" Sam laughed, when she found her voice.

Jack didn't look the slightest bit abashed as he swung around, reaching out automatically to deposit Gracie safely on the ground, allowing her to run to her parents. "Jack and me are makin' breakfast!" she announced.

Daniel moved to the cooker, looking at the array of cooking there. "Where did you get all this stuff?"

Jack cleared his throat. "Well, Gracie kinda showed me where the nearest shop was….you didn't have much good stuff in the fridge."

"And we got Gummi Bears!"

"At seven o'clock in the morning?!"

Jack winced at the volume of Daniel's outburst. "You weren't meant to tell them," he reminded her, making a face at her behind Daniel's back, letting her know he wasn't angry. "See, we've got omelettes, and waffles, and syrup….can't forget the syrup, can we Gracie?" She shook her head. "And we got….hey kid, you're up!"

Gracie extricated herself from Sam's grasp and ran to the table, bringing back two glasses of juice. "Orange juice. We made it ourselves!"

"You got some there for us too?" At Jack's words, she went back to the table to get two more glasses.

Daniel and Sam were shaking their heads in wonder. "Jack…." That was all Sam could get out before his raised hand stopped her.

"Wait until you taste it before you say anything Carter."

"It's Jackson now Sir," she teased him.

"It's Jack."

"Agreed."

Gracie chose then to return with the orange juice, and Jack immediately lifted his. "A toast."

"What are we drinking to?" Daniel asked.

"What else?" Jack looked at each of them in turn. "To family."

Sam and Daniel raised their glasses and Gracie followed suit. "To family," they echoed.

There was an awkward silence after they drained their glasses, and Jack filled it. "Gracie, why don't you go show your mom how we set the table."

As Gracie did that, Daniel appeared at Jack's shoulder. "Does this mean you're sticking around?"

Jack shrugged as he began to dish up. "I guess I'll have to. Someone has to teach that child the finer points of hockey. You do know she's never been to a game don't you? And I thought I might head over to Colorado Springs….check out Teal'c and Janet…."

Daniel clapped him on the back. "Welcome home Jack."

Looking at him, then at the two blonde heads sitting at the table, the song that had been going around Jack's head since yesterday morning finally left.

He knew it wasn't true.

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