Author's Note: I hadn't intended to write a second chapter, but I had timeline issues to work out in my head, and this is what I came up with. There may or may not be a third chapter. It depends on whether the inkling of an idea in my head turns into something bigger.

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She picked up the phone on the second ring with an absentminded, "Carter."

"You know, Carter, my first instinct at 1930 hours should be to call you at home, not your lab," came Jack's disembodied voice from the phone. "Have you eaten dinner yet?"

"Nope. I was waiting for you," Sam replied.

Jack smiled at her answer. With the exception of the night before, when Jack had to fly to Washington, he and Sam had managed to eat dinner together every night since they'd gotten back from the cabin ten days ago. A few of those nights also included Daniel and Teal'c, including three nights earlier when the four of them had gone out to a farewell dinner for Teal'c, who had left for Dakara the next morning to serve on the new Jaffa council. "What are you in the mood for?" he asked.

"Hmmm…" Sam contemplated, "How about Thai? I'm suddenly craving Pad Thai noodles."

"The place with the insanely good turnip cakes?" That was Sam's fault. She'd introduced him to the restaurant, ordered the turnip cakes, and made him try them. The 'insane' part was because that was how he felt for liking something called 'turnip cakes.' The term 'cake' was supposed to be applied to things like chocolate, seven-layer, even carrot, but certainly not turnip.

"Yeah," she answered, "but let's get takeout. I feel like staying in tonight." Walking through the airport, Jack willed his body not to respond to the implication. That first night at the cabin, they'd decided to take things slow, and they'd made a valiant effort. Really. They'd made it to the third night. Then they wondered what the hell they'd been waiting for. Daniel was just glad the old cabin had thick walls. He was happy for them. Hell, he'd actively rooted for them, but there were certain things he just didn't need or want to know about his two best friends.

"OK. I'll call in the order and pick it up on my way home from the airport. Meet me there in an hour?"

"Yes, sir." While Sam had said it somewhat cheekily, the 'sir' part was necessary. Jack wasn't technically her CO anymore, but he still outranked her, and they needed to maintain their professional relationship in a military setting, now more than ever. Fortunately, their eight years of experience in purposely maintaining that wall between them was helping them out on that front.

The only other person on the planet who knew about their relationship was Daniel, Teal'c being on Dakara. Others suspected, but there was certainly no need to give them proof, because while they weren't technically breaking any rules, they were definitely bending them. The people at Area 51 were ecstatic that Sam was finally being transferred there, but they were somewhat puzzled by the conditions of the transfer. One poor desk sergeant who was tasked with speedily putting together the paperwork for Sam's transfer had to wonder aloud, "If she doesn't want to come here for another four weeks, why doesn't she just transfer in four weeks?" But they really wanted her to head Stargate R&D at Area 51, so they went along with it.

An hour later, Sam walked through Jack's front door, dropped her overnight bag on the floor in the hallway (because spontaneity is great, unless you want to put on clean underwear in the morning), and not seeing him in the immediate vicinity, called out, "Jack?"

"In the kitchen!"

As Sam walked through the dining room to the kitchen, she gaped a little at the table that was beautifully set with a white linen tablecloth, more silverware than they could possibly need while eating Thai food, wine glasses, and candles. While Sam was touched at the romantic gesture, she was more suspicious than anything else because she was quite sure that Jack knew he didn't have to work this hard to get her into bed. She found Jack in the kitchen transferring the food from takeout containers into… serving bowls? The hell? Something was definitely up, but her questions could wait until she welcomed him back from Washington properly.

Sam crossed the space that separated them and stretched up to kiss him, which as a woman of five foot ten, was something she appreciated. It was a bit more than a hello kiss, but to be fair, this was the first time since before they'd gone up to the cabin that they'd gone more than twelve hours without seeing each other. After breaking the kiss, but not moving out of his arms, Sam looked up at Jack, smiled, and asked, "OK, who are you, and what have you done with Jack?"

Jack raised an eyebrow at her and responded, "You go around kissing strangers like that?"

Sam rolled her eyes, and removing one hand from the back of Jack's neck, gestured at the dining room table and the serving bowls. "When I said takeout, I was thinking paper plates and chopsticks, not a candlelit dinner. What's the occasion?"

Cautiously, Jack answered, "We're celebrating my promotion."

"Your…? Oh my god!" Sam exclaimed and hugged Jack. Then she took a step back and looked at him quizzically. "Jaaack, god knows you deserve it, but you've been a brigadier barely a year. This has to be the quickest rise to two-star I've ever seen. Why are they promoting you now?"

Grabbing two of the serving bowls, Jack replied, "Come on. I'm hungry. I'll tell you over dinner." Sam grabbed the other bowls and followed him into the dining room.

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Eleven Hours Earlier:

Jack walked into the oval office to find President Hayes and General Hammond waiting to greet him. Reaching out to shake his hand, General Hammond smiled warmly and said, "Nice to see you, Jack."

Jack responded sincerely, "You too, sir."

"Welcome to the Oval Office, Jack," the president said, taking Jack's hand and shaking it.

"Thank you, Mr. President."

"Have a seat." And he ushered Jack over to one of the couches, while he and General Hammond sat on the couch opposite him.

"Jack," Hammond began, "I'm sure you're wondering why you're here."

"I figured someone would get around to telling me eventually, sir."

George smiled and continued, "I've decided that it's a good time for me to finally retire. I'd like to watch my granddaughters grow up, and I can't do that from Washington."

President Hayes didn't give Jack time to react to the news, but continued with the rest of the news. "We're promoting you, Jack. I'd like you to be the new Head of Homeworld Security." Jack didn't respond, but his eyes were as wide as saucers, so Henry continued, "You'll oversee operations at the SGC, our off-world bases, the Prometheus, the 304 projects, the Antarctic outpost, the Atlantis expedition, and Area 51."

Jack visibly winced when the president said "Area 51," and the other two men noticed. "Something wrong, Jack?" George asked.

Jack closed his eyes and took a deep breath. This was not a topic he had ever intended to discuss with the president of the United States, but it looked like he had no choice. Already knowing the answer, he asked, "I don't suppose we could remove Area 51 from that list?"

"Jack?" Hammond questioned.

With steely resolve, Jack turned to General Hammond and forced himself to say the words, "Carter just transferred to Area 51."

Realization dawned on General Hammond's face, and a smile spread across it. "So you two aren't in the same chain of command anymore?"

"Yes, sir," Jack answered miserably.

"How long have you been together?" George asked kindly.

"A couple of weeks, sir. She's been finishing off projects in her lab before the move."

The president turned to General Hammond and asked rhetorically, "So the rumors were true?"

Jack tried not to react to the fact that the president of the United States seemed to be on the receiving end of the SGC's gossip. He started to wonder who his source of information was when the president interrupted his thoughts. "Jack, the U.S. military doesn't make a habit out of breaking up existing relationships with promotions, and it's not going to start now. If anyone gives you or Colonel Carter a problem, they can take it up with me, but I need you in Washington."

Jack had no desire to move to Washington, no desire to take a job that involved even more paperwork than he already had, no desire to be even further from the stargate, and he definitely had no desire to get involved in the politics he knew came with the job, but the president of the United States had just sanctioned a relationship that had been completely against the rules two weeks ago, a relationship he'd coveted for at least five years, possibly longer. Besides, he was military, and when the Commander in Chief gives you an order, you follow it. It was either that or retirement. And while he had thought he had been ready to retire nine years ago, he knew he wasn't ready now. He needed to see the fruits of his labor, he needed to see what a galaxy no longer enslaved by the Goa'ould looked like, and for that he needed security clearance. So his only response to the president was, "Thank you, sir."

"Good," said the president, clearly deciding everything was settled. "Now there's just the matter of your replacement. George?"

"We were thinking of Hank Landry. Jack, what do you think?"

A smile spread across Jack's face. "I think he's perfect for the job, sir. In fact, I'm wondering why you didn't appoint him a year ago instead of me." Then, quirking an eyebrow, he asked, "Does he know about the stargate?"

"Not yet."

"Can I tell him?" Jack's eyes were wide, hopeful anticipation written into his smile.

The president handled that question amiably. "I think that can be arranged. Why don't you take a little side trip before heading back to Colorado Springs? Now, any more questions?"

"Just one," Jack said cautiously, "when do you need me to start?"

The president deferred to General Hammond with a nod of his head.

"When does Colonel Carter move to Nevada?"

"Three weeks."

"I think I can hold the fort here until then."

"Thank you, sir."

The president stood up, and the other two men stood with him. Shaking General Hammond's hand, he said, "George, we're going to miss you around here."

"Thank you, Mr. President."

Taking Jack's hand, he said, "Jack, glad to have you on board."

"Thank you, Mr. President." As he and General Hammond left the oval office, Jack had the feeling he would be saying that a lot from now on. He wondered what he'd gotten himself into.

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Once Jack finished the story, he looked expectantly at Sam. "Well?"

Sam pondered the ramifications of Jack's promotion for a few moments before saying, "I guess we'll just have to sit through longer flights. Although… we really should think about installing Asgard beaming technology on the International Space Station. The Prometheus or the Daedalus can't be here every time we need to use it."

One corner of Jack's mouth tugged up into a smile, and Jack planted a quick kiss on Sam's lips. He sat back and stared at her in open adoration for a few moments until suddenly, he frowned.

"What?"

"I should not be thinking about this stuff yet."

"What?" Sam asked more insistently.

"I just realized what a political nightmare it would be to actually try to install Asgard beams on the International Space Station."

Sam started laughing. "Hey! No giggling about this," Jack admonished, but that only made Sam laugh harder.