The Jello Party by fems

Carter-O'Neill Residence
Colorado Springs, Colorado

It had been a long day and Sam was exhausted when she finally opened the front door of her house. To her surprise the clock in the hallway told her it wasn't even 1700 hours yet; today had to be the first time she'd left the base this early! But after being cooped up under the mountain for ten days she'd made a break for it mere hours after the quarantine was lifted and had been ensured everything would be fine once Siler and Dr Lee had arrived to take over the cleanup.

Thanks to Felger's mistake she had almost missed her own daughter's birthday party this weekend! It was bad enough that she'd been held on base meaning Jack had to organize the whole thing on his own, but it would have been hell if the SGC had remained under quarantine while Sage's party was taking place only a few miles away!

Sam closed the door behind her and, placing her briefcase on the floor, she shrugged out of her coat and kicked off her shoes, all the while listening for sounds coming from her husband and daughter elsewhere in the house. Perhaps she should have called ahead to let them know she was free to go just in case they weren't home and doing some last minute shopping or something?

The idea of taking a long hot bath without interruption was just forming in her brain when she heard the pitter-patter of little feet on wood and a high-pitched giggle coming from the living room. She hardly had the time to check it out when Sage "Whirlwind" O'Neill rounded the corner and nearly bumped into her.

"Mommy!" The six-year-old girl cried enthusiastically, before launching herself.

Wrapping her arms tightly around her daughter, Sam lifted her up and cuddled her. "Hey sweetie," she murmured, burying her nose in Sage's blond hair. "I missed you."

"Ditto!"

She chuckled in amusement; no doubt Jack had assigned their daughter the task of browsing through the crossword dictionary while he'd been attempting to fill out the paper's puzzle correctly. Sage had already learned a lot of new words like that and usually tried to use them as often as possible for a week or so until the next crossword puzzle was up. "Is your Dad doing his crossword again?"

"No, he's out back," Sage replied as she leaned back.

It was only then that Sam noticed some mud on the girl's cheek and hands, and her shorter locks. "Did you get your hair cut?"

"Yes, Daddy took me to the hairdresser yesterday," she bobbed her head and then smiled shyly. "Do you like it, Mommy?"

"I love it," she reassured her daughter as she brushed a lock behind her ear. Sage's hair had almost reached her lower back, always got tangled up and took forever to brush. During the quarantine they had chatted via their webcams and Jack had suggested taking their daughter for a haircut because she'd gotten some strands of hair stuck on a branch that day as she climbed down a tree in the backyard and he'd been forced to cut off two inches to get her free. Now the sandy blond locks were just resting on her shoulders and looked a bit curlier too, without all that extra weight pulling it down. "Do you like it?"

"It's cool!" Sage beamed and ran a hand through her hair. Leaning back in her arms, she used both hands to pull her hair back. "Look how short my pony tail is!"

Sam was about to comment when the phone rang. Since she was already going to the living room and had to pass the phone to reach the sliding doors on her way to greet Jack she reluctantly picked up the phone, silently wondering if her husband and the hairdresser had made sure Sage's hair could actually be tied back properly without half her hair hanging out of the pony tail. "Carter," she almost barked into the phone, still in base commander mode.

"Eh, hello, I'm looking for Sage O'Neill's parents?" A woman's voice inquired, sounding a bit startled at the brusque reply.

"I'm Sage's mom," she replied absentmindedly, one hand stroking her daughter's hair where her head rested on her shoulder.

A short pause followed before the woman on the other end spoke again, in what sounded like a disapproving one. "Ah, I see."

It wasn't the first time Sam had heard it and it probably wouldn't be the last, but for some reason a lot of the old fashioned and elitist parents took it to mean she hadn't gone down the traditional route and married her child's father simply because she was still using her maiden name. It was one of the major reasons she disliked having her daughter in a private school but risk assessments had shown that with her and Jack's positions, their relations to the Stargate Program, Homeworld Security, Atlantis and his ATA gene and the naquadah in her blood they were too high profile to have their kid in public school just in case the NID decided to switch sides again, or some rogue faction like the Trust would come after them or Sage.

Unfortunately it also meant dealing with parents and school officials that felt more elite than 'normal' people and were far more old-fashioned and sticklers for etiquette and whatnot. Their reactions to learning she was still working on her career while Jack was the stay-at-home parent in their family were very similar. So much for equality and living in the twenty-first century...

"How can I help you?" Sam asked politely, instead of snapping at the unsuspecting woman. After all, it wasn't her fault Felger had screwed up again and had caused a ten-day quarantine, keeping her on base. Besides, she couldn't afford to piss of any parents at Sage's school and Jack certainly wouldn't be pleased if all his efforts at playing nice were destroyed with one snappy comment from her.

"My name is Eleanor Vogel, I'm Billy's mother," she replied, referring to one of Sage's classmates and friends. "My husband only showed me the invitation to Sage's party today after I returned from a spa retreat and he had already given our son permission to accept the invitation, but I still have some questions myself."

Sam's eyes darted guiltily to the little girl in her arms. Due to the situation on base she had barely had time to check in at home and had only managed two video chats with Jack and Sage during the quarantine, so he had been saddled with not only planning the party but also doing all the preparations. Sadly, it wasn't anything new and Sam wasn't sure if it was a good or a bad thing that their daughter was used to it by now. At least it meant Jack knew how to handle everything but with him and Sage being thick as thieves they often banded together to keep it a secret, so in the end things like parties were usually a surprise to Sam.

She much preferred it over them sulking about her being too busy at work but at times like these it was unfortunate because she had no idea what Jack had planned for Saturday and doubted she could be of help to Billy's mother. "Of course, I'll do my best to answer them." As the woman started talking Sam lowered Sage to the ground and put her hand over the phone. "Go find your Dad; Billy's mom has some questions," she whispered to her daughter, who to her surprise rolled her eyes in exasperation at learning who was on the other end of the phone before she scurried off.

"... he didn't bother to ask any questions, you know how men can be sometimes," Mrs Vogel continued.

Sam didn't really know what she was referring to but started to understand Sage's reaction when it became clear how overprotective and cautious the woman was when it came to her son. Not that she or Jack weren't concerned about their daughter's safety but this woman was taking concern to a whole different level as she rattled on about the boy's various allergies - animals, certain plants and medication - his asthma, what kind of sunscreen he needed to use and when, what his diet was and how many calories he was allowed to have...

At a loss for what to say Sam just made some appropriate noises as she went over to Jack's laptop on the coffee table to check out the actual invitation. She doubted he would have asked for all the information Mrs Vogel was sharing and felt like she was being prepped to adopt the child instead of just having him over for a few hours. Especially since Billy had spent quite a few afternoons at their house already since they had moved back to Colorado Springs from DC and if she wasn't mistaken Jack had actually met the child's mother once or twice when dropping Sage off at their house for a play date and even once at a fundraiser for the kids' school.

"A pool?" Sam interrupted the other woman as she searched the laptop. "No, we don't have a pool..." She and Jack had both sold their houses in Colorado a few years ago when they'd been reassigned and while it had seemed foolish at first when she'd been informed of her new command position, in retrospect it was probably better because now they had bought one together upon moving back here.

She had always loved the layout and location of his old place, more so than her own house so they had tried looking for something similar. It had been tricky to find something within their budget and pleasing to both so in the end they had settled on this house with double garages for her and had built themselves a stargazing platform atop of them. A pool hadn't been that important to either of them, although Jack had hinted it would give him something to do with all his free time but she thought it was more likely he ended up fishing in it than actually swimming.

"That is what I and our nanny thought too and when I told my husband he said he hadn't seen one either when he brought Billy over to your house."

Her husband, William Vogel of course, had dropped the red-headed boy off a handful of times on Saturdays on his way to the office according to his son or after the kid's baseball practice. Sam refrained from informing Mrs Vogel that her beloved husband never even bothered to get out of the car whenever he brought Billy over because from what she'd heard so far she was pretty sure that wasn't SOP for the Vogels and she didn't want to cause any problems for the child's parents. The Vogel's nanny, a shy and mousy young woman in her twenties, usually took care of the child and had been over plenty of times.

"I was just alarmed by the mention of bringing swimwear since our Billy doesn't know how to swim yet," Mrs Vogel said, "nor was there a mention of lifeguards and which parents would do the supervising."

Swimsuits? That was definitely something Jack had neglected to tell her, Sam mused silently. "If you have a moment, I'll get my husband; he's the one who has organized and planned Sage's party."

"Your husband? He will be the one supervising the children... on his own?"

"Jack retired from the Air Force a few years ago for Sage's sake." The woman's tone made her defensive, not liking what she seemed to be implying. "He is our daughter's primary caretaker since I am still on active duty." Those words always sounded so impersonal and almost clinical, one of the reasons she hated the term but it seemed to be one the schools and parents understood.

It was then that she noticed Jack had entered the room, with Sage on his back and her muddy arms loosely wrapped around his neck. By the look on his face Sam realized he had overheard her or at least got the gist of the conversation and didn't like it anymore than she did. He was a great father and despite still having a few years left he had chosen to retire to spend more time with their daughter something not many men, especially his age, would do.

"He is more than capable of taking care of several young children," she added, holding his gaze. During their time on SG-1 she had seen him interact with all kinds of children and it soon became clear he just had a way with kids. Even now, she felt he was better with Sage than she was and had been from day one. It took her more effort to relate to their daughter while he was just a natural and didn't even have to try. Besides, if he could keep a bunch of cadets alive in the field how difficult would it be for him to keep everyone safe at a children's party?

Jack put Sage down and ruffled the girl's hairs, eliciting a soft giggle, before gesturing Sam to hand over the phone. "Jack O'Neill speaking," he said into the appliance, rolling his eyes at the woman's reply. "You and your husband are more than welcome to join us at the party, Mrs Vogel. To supervise, of course," he added dryly.

"Billy's mom is stupid," Sage said as she climbed on the sofa.

"You shouldn't call other people stupid, it's not very polite," Sam gently admonished her daughter as she snuggled up to her, wrapping an arm around her.

The girl's eyebrows shot up, reminiscent of Daniel's puppy dog look. "But she is! She never lets us play in their yard and always sends us to the playroom with the nanny."

"Still, I don't want you calling other people stupid. How would you feel if someone called you that?" Sam was satisfied when Sage gnawed her lip, looking chastised and hugged her a bit tighter and pressed a kiss on her crown before focusing her attention on Jack's phone conversation.

"... might want to wear a swimsuit, Ma'am, if you want to join in the fun," he said, winking at them with a roguish smile on his face.

Sam grinned as Sage buried her face into her side, her daughter's small frame shaking with laughter at Jack's antics. She herself had never met Mrs Vogel as far as she could recall but by the muffled giggles it was clear the image of the woman in a bathing suit was hilarious to the six-year-old girl and Jack knew it.

"Okay, bye now. Yes, we'll see you then," he replied to the woman, before hanging up.

"She'll be joining us?" Sam inquired politely, already forming a picture of the woman to match the voice and attitude in her head.

Sage made a face when Jack nodded and walked towards them. "Eww, in her swimsuit?"

"What?" He put on the innocent expression their daughter had started copying as of late and jumped forward to start tickling her. "I couldn't have her getting her fancy clothes all dirty, could I?"

"Ieeeh, Daddy!" She squealed, wriggling on the couch. "Mommy help," she gasped in between laughter as Jack continued his attack.

Taking a moment to watch her family joke around Sam smiled before launching herself at her husband and thereby freeing their daughter. "Sage-"

"Don't worry, Mommy, I've got your six!" The girl replied, repeating a familiar phrase in their household as she jumped atop her father.

Jack chuckled softly as Sam held him and Sage tried to tickle him as best she could with her tiny hands. "I surrender," he cried out dramatically.

"Yay!"

"Now, go wash up, munchkin and then set the table for dinner," he said after they both climbed off him.

"Pizza!"

Sam helped him up as Sage ran off and then tried her best General Carter glare on him. "Pizza? What have you been feeding our daughter while I was away?"

Smirking, he wrapped his arms around her and gave her the first kiss in ten long days. "It's the kid's birthday," he shrugged afterwards.

"Her birthday isn't until next week, Jack."

"Details, details..."

Despite spoiling their little girl rotten Sam smiled at him and snuggled closer, resting her head on his shoulder and nuzzling his neck. "What did Mrs Vogel say?"

"She checked her schedule and said she was willing to offer up some of her precious free time to help us supervise Sage's party and that she'll ask her husband to attend too, once he's back from his golf match. Oh and she mentioned that Billy was allergic to red dye but they weren't vegans or vegetarians and the kid was looking forward to the party."

She snorted and rolled her eyes even if he couldn't see it. "You're lucky; I had to listen to his entire medical history. You'd think she was handing him over to us for the rest of his life instead of one afternoon."

"I bet he'd be happier here than with that woman," Jack muttered in her hair. "He's a great kid though, comes by here all the time to play with our whirlwind. It would mean I'm no longer outnumbered."

"Oh please, you love doting on Sage."

He pulled back a bit and smirked at her. "That I do. On both of you, actually. Maybe we should get a dog to even the score..."

"A puppy!" Their daughter yelped as she came into the living room with a big grin.

"We'll see," Sam replied, feeling bad when not just Sage's face fell but Jack's too. "Did you finish setting the table?"

When she nodded they all went into the living room and Jack got out the pizza leftovers - almost a pizza and a half, which made her wonder if they'd eaten anything other than pizza these past few days - while she poured them all some water in the glasses present.

"So, is everything ready for the party tomorrow?"

"Yeah sure you betcha," Jack grinned, exchanging conspiratorial glances with their daughter. "Well, almost everything... but I have to do the rest in the morning. You just make sure to wear your bikini, Sam."

She eyed him over the table as she grabbed a slice of pizza. "We'll see..." It was clear to her that neither he nor Sage was going to let her in on they had planned. Luckily, she didn't mind surprises so much, at least not this kind.

"I'm gonna wear my green swimsuit," Sage piped in.

"The peridot one with black dots," Jack corrected, referring to the one he'd bought her at the start of the summer vacation.

Their daughter was munching on a slice of pizza that was way too big for her, a pensive look on her face. "Mommy, do you have to go back to base tomorrow?"

"No, sweetie, Uncle Cam is keeping an eye on things while I'm on leave for the next two weeks. That's why he couldn't make it to your party, remember?"

"Oh... does that mean I'm not getting a present from him?"

Jack almost choked on the sip of water he'd just taken and coughed loudly to clear his windpipe. "Um... remember what we told you about getting presents?"

She dropped the pizza on her plate and frowned. "But I've been a good girl all year!"

"We know," Sam hastily said. "But sometimes people can't make it to someone's birthday and are incapable of getting them a present, even if they've been good."

"But PJ sent me something and he's in Washington! And Uncle Daniel and Teal'c and Aunt Vala aren't even in the country..."

She knew their little girl was right; PJ, Paul Davis' son, was one of the few friends from Washington she still kept in touch with via Skype and they'd visit sometimes when Colonel Davis had to be at the SGC or she was needed in DC and the others were all off-world but had made sure to leave a gift. But she had no idea if Cam had remembered to get something or if he would have time to visit with everything that had been going on at the SGC. "I guess we'll just have to wait and see."

"Speaking of the SGC..." Jack said after a tense moment of silence and turned towards her, ignoring the sulking six-year old across from him. "Did everything work out all right? I forgot to ask," he made a vague gesture towards the living room, "and I didn't expect you to be home so soon. I checked in after lunch and heard the quarantine was being reevaluated."

"After conferring with Carolyn we decided to lift the quarantine around fifteen hundred thirty hours and as soon as Siler and Bill got access to the mountain again I left after they promised to tie up the loose ends," Sam explained in between bites.

He nodded and took another sip of water to wash away the last of his pizza. "What about Folger?"

"Felger," she corrected him automatically. "I fired him."

"What?"

Sam looked unfazed and continued to nibble on a slice. "We were out of commission for almost two weeks because of him."

"But when Hammond wanted to fire his sorry ass a few years ago you said he deserved another chance and that he was brilliant or whatever," he replied.

When she sent him a warning look and jerked her head towards a softly giggling Sage he just shrugged, not even bothering to apologize for using such language. Probably because he couldn't stand Felger and felt justified in his phrasing. "Well, he did come up with Avenger back then."

"Yeah, but only because you helped him. He was a pain in the mikta when I was base commander but when I threatened to send him to the Russians you defended him again," Jack whined.

"I admit you were both right, he's a complete screw-up and jumps to conclusions based on zero evidence," Sam admitted. "I took a look at his records and he's basically just a waste of money and delivers nothing but failure. Now, after blowing up one of his creations in an unsuitable lab without authorization and thereby destroying the MRI in the room on the level below, damaging the botany labs next door as well as the CO2 scrubbers and part of the mountain's life support system he's gone too far!"

"Mommy, you said screw-up!"

Jack chuckled softly and winked at their daughter as he snagged the leftover slice off her plate. "It's okay, munchkin. Mommy wasn't calling him names or being mean. In this case it's just a fact of life that Folger will always screw something up." Then he turned back to Sam and gestured with Sage's half-eaten slice of pizza. "And the damage in the botany labs caused the outbreak of eh... those evil spores that required a lockdown of the mountain?"

"Something like that, yes," she said with a soft smile, knowing he hadn't really been paying all that much attention after she mentioned quarantine when she'd called to let him know about the incident ten days ago. "Do we have dessert?"

"I'm not hungry anymore," Sage replied with a small shake of her head.

After swallowing the last bit of pizza Jack shrugged. "Me neither and we don't have any jello left."

"That's okay, the pizza was fine," Sam said. Taking a last sip of water she handed her empty glass over to their daughter, who was waiting to take them back to the kitchen.

"I'll clean up the rest, you go relax on the sofa," Jack told her and started clearing the table.

Doing as he suggested Sam got comfortable on the couch and it wasn't long until Sage joined her, climbing onto her lap to snuggle close. "I missed you," Sam told her, wrapping her arms tight around the little girl and burying her face into her sandy blond hair.

"Me too. I'm glad you're back, Mommy," Sage replied, smiling up at her. "Even if it means I'm not getting a present from Uncle Cam."

End Notes:

This is just a little fic that popped into my head a few weeks ago and is not related to any of my other stories. In the meantime I'll also be working on my next (long) fic.

Carter-O'Neill Residence
Colorado Springs, Colorado

Jack was busy making breakfast in the kitchen when he heard his wife coming down the stairs and jerked his in that direction to alert their daughter. "Looks like Mom is ready to join us, kid. Why don't you finish setting the table?"

"You betcha, Daddy!" Sage slid off the barstool at the counter and carried the last breakfast items to the table.

Sam walked into the kitchen, wearing her robe and a soft smile. "Good morning."

"Morning sleepyhead," he grinned, giving her a quick kiss. "I wasn't sure how much sleep you'd gotten during the quarantine so I figured letting you rest would be best. Breakfast is almost done."

"I didn't mean to sleep in today... not with the party this afternoon. You said there were still some preparations left for this morning, the least I can do is help out after letting you organize everything," she replied, one arm around his waist.

"All done," Sage announced as she joined them. "Hi Mommy."

Jack watched as Sam leaned down to kiss the girl and then the two moved over to the counter. Their daughter placed two mugs on the surface and Sam filled them with coffee. "Careful with that," he cautioned when Sage took his cup with her to the table. "It's hot." Finishing up with the stove he turned it off, placed breakfast on some plates and took those with him as he followed the girls.

"It looks beautiful," Sam commented.

He looked at the festive decorations she indicated, the ones he had placed around the house and yard last night after she and Sage had gone upstairs. The two of them had gotten ready for bed while he made sure everything was in place for the party downstairs. By the time he'd joined them they were both asleep on Sage's bed with an opened book in between them. He'd gently woken up his wife and taken her to bed, despite the early hour and they'd called it a night. "That it does. Look, pancakes for the birthday girl," he set a plate down in front of Sage's chair, which was decorated with balloons.

"It's not my birthday yet, Daddy."

"But we're celebrating it today with your friends," Sam replied. "Or do you want to save all their presents until your actual birthday?"

Her eyes grew wide and she quickly shook her head. "No!"

Jack chuckled softly as he placed some toast and an omelet in front of his wife and sat down with his own plate, filled with a few pancakes and an omelet. "So, birthday girl it is then."

"Sweetie, what are you drinking?"

"Nothing," Sage said with a shrug. "I forgot the milk."

Sam rolled her eyes and got up before Jack could do or say anything. "I'll get it." Within seconds she was gone and he could hear her opening the fridge. "Jack, why is our fridge filled with Jello?"

Sage's mouth dropped open and her eyes were wide. "Uh-oh, busted!"

Jack winced and threw her a conspiratorial look. "It's for the kids," he yelled over his shoulder.

"That's enough to feed the entire school!" Sam replied as she came back to the table, milk in hand. "Just how many children are coming over today?"

"Just some friends, Mommy."

At their daughter's answer and perfectly schooled innocent face the Carter look was thrown his way, eerily reminding Jack of the late Jacob Carter. He'd had the same look, which was often more a combination of disappointment, impatience that silently said 'you better tell me what's up right now' and the intense eyes than an actual glare. It was spooky that Sam seemed to have perfected it and was now using it on him! "Just a dozen or so kids," Jack replied defensively.

"A dozen? There are only fourteen kids in her class!"

"We didn't invite the whole class, did we munchkin?"

Sam watched as Sage shook her head and frowned. "So you invited everyone but two classmates? That's not very nice."

"Just half, Mommy."

"And the Jenkins girls from down the street, Rick from next door, two kids from karate and two from ballet," Jack added.

Sage nodded as she munched on her pancakes. "Bobby and Kristy and Mallory and Jane."

"Okay... it's your party after all," Sam admitted as she sat down. "Just tell me you're going to feed them something other than jello."

"I got burgers, hot dogs, chicken, tofu, salads and some veggies and steaks for the adults."

"Is that why you were out back yesterday when I got home, setting up the grill?"

Jack smirked, thinking about the things he and Sage had been planning. "Yes... among other things."

"You're not going to tell me until this afternoon, are you?"

"Nope."

Sam rolled her eyes but a small smile was tugging at her lips as she turned her attention back to breakfast. "I take it that means you're not going to let me help you set things up either?" When he just shook his head she sighed and looked at their daughter. "And what about you? Are you going to help your Dad or do I have to help you get ready?"

"Daddy said I'm good to go, just need my swimsuit," Sage replied. Lifting the carton of milk she cautiously poured some in her cup, with the same focus and determination Jack was used to seeing from his wife when she was working on some doohickey. "Right?"

"Yeah sure you betcha," he grinned, reaching out to ruffle her hair. Earlier, he had already combed the girl's hair after they'd both gotten dressed. "Trust me, Sam, you don't want her to shower, wash her hair and get her ready in some fancy outfit for today's activities. We'll probably all be in need of a shower at the end of the evening..."

Vogel Residence
Colorado Springs, Colorado

William Vogel sighed as he buttoned up his shirt and walked over to the floor length mirror to put on his tie. Trust his wife to get him assigned supervising duty of a bunch of seven-year-old kids at a birthday party. On a Saturday, for God's sake. Didn't the woman know he worked hard all week so he could go to the club in the weekend and enjoy some golf with his business partners after twenty plus years of marriage? It wasn't even a party of one of his own children! Years ago, before they had even moved to Colorado, Eleanor had told him to attend the parties of their two eldest, it had been awful and had made him put his foot down about any involvement with the children's birthday parties. It was why they had caterers, party planners and a nanny after all!

Luckily the girls were now too old to even want him present and Billy didn't know any better, but now he had to spend his day off at the O'Neills for their kid's party! He could only hope it wasn't one of those god awful tea parties his eldest had once had. Then again, William doubted his son would want to attend something like that or be friends with a kid who enjoyed them. Funny, how one of Billy's best friends was a girl, he thought to himself. Neither of his daughters had been friends with boys at that age and once they were old enough he'd made sure to send them to an all-girls school. Not that he was aware of all the children his son and daughters mingled with but in this case Billy was always talking about his friend.

He didn't remember ever seeing the O'Neill girl since he usually worked late and the few times Billy had friends over they were in the playroom with the nanny but he had dropped the boy off at the girl's house a few times at Eleanor's insistence when on his way to the office or the club. Billy would often already be out the car and up the porch steps before he himself had time to release his seatbelt, so he'd never bothered getting out and just drove off when the girl's father - he presumed - would open the door. O'Neill wasn't a very common name in their circles and the gray-haired man hadn't looked familiar; it made William wonder what their connection to the school was.

"Why on Earth did you volunteer to help?" He asked when Eleanor emerged from her walk-in closet. "You know how important it is for me to socialize with my business partners and potential clients."

"I couldn't very well let Billy go there alone, who knows what that man would do to those children!"

"For God's sake, Eleanor, it's just a birthday party," he grumbled, fumbling with his tie. "What difference does it make whether the boy plays there on regular days or attends a party?"

His wife looked at him with dismay as she put on her jewelry. "First of all, I had no idea that Mr O'Neill was the girl's primary caretaker. You didn't think that was important information to share with me?" She inquired in a high tone, but before he could reply she continued. "I don't think they have a very traditional family and I'm not sure how wise it is to let Billy socialize with that girl. I'm disappointed in both you and Lisa."

"Who?"

"Billy's nanny," she said curtly, scowling at him. Well, she tried but it wasn't very successful after her recent spa retreat. "More importantly is that we don't really know this family and yet we allow our son to spend time at their home. When the girls were younger at least we knew all the parents involved at the school."

William nodded slowly, even though it wasn't really true for him. He'd never meddled into such things; that was a task for Eleanor and the nanny. "What does O'Neill do for a living?" Perhaps there was still a business opportunity here and today wouldn't be a complete waste of time.

"The man is retired. I think his wife said something about the military but I was too shocked by the entire situation, to be honest," she replied, a hand delicately placed on her chest. "Frankly, I'm not entirely reassured that Billy and the other children would be safe in their care. They sounded quite rude on the phone."

Military? "Let's ask the boy before we go over to the party." Considering how much Billy spoke about his friend and her family it wouldn't be too difficult to get some more information out of him.

"I believe she works to support the family," Eleanor said.

"Mrs O'Neill?" Interesting. "I suppose in this day and age that isn't as abnormal as you make it sound, dear." It was rather unusual in their circles but it was intriguing as well. Perhaps it could be a topic of discussion this afternoon. Certainly the woman's work had to be more interesting than his wife's volunteer work, organizations and her society gossip.

"It's a disgrace. What on Earth should we talk about with these people?"

Rolling his eyes William grabbed his jacket and turned towards the door, intent on going downstairs and hopefully get this afternoon over with as soon as possible. Perhaps he could still join Montgomery at the club afterwards. "Will any of your friends be there today or is Billy the only one from school?"

"A handful of children were invited and after making some calls I have reassured our friends that we would be present to supervise as well. The Prescotts were sending their nanny," Eleanor added as they went downstairs.

"Why aren't we sending... our nanny?" Whatever her name was. It was difficult to keep track of since his wife usually fired and hired personnel like maids and nannies without informing him. Therefore he had stopped trying to learn their names years ago, when the girls had still been little.

Eleanor turned around as they reached the ground floor and looked at him. "Someone should stay with the girls and considering Lisa already failed to keep me abreast of the families of the children Billy socializes with I don't think it would be wise to send her to supervise today."

"Very well," he grumbled. By the sounds of it a new nanny would be hired soon... "How long do we have to stay there?"

"I believe there is some kind of dinner, unless the inquiry about dietary habits was meant for a late lunch or snacks."

Wonderful, William thought. He watched as Eleanor went to get Billy and donned his jacket. Apparently the birthday party had more of a casual dress code therefore he had elected to wear a two-piece suit and forego his usual waistcoat. In this summer heat that suited him just fine, especially if some of the activities were outdoors. "Do you have the present with you, son?" He asked once Billy and Eleanor returned.

The boy was wearing khaki slacks and a light blue shirt, his red hair sticking up a bit from running his hand through it. "Yes, Dad," he held up his bag.

"Did you pack your swimming trunks too?" When Billy nodded Eleanor sighed and steered him towards the front door. "I still don't know what to expect this man has organized, considering the address listed is their home address and they don't even have a pool."

"Sage's dad is the coolest," Billy exclaimed, practically bouncing off the front steps. "It'll be awesome."

Ah yes, Sage was the girl's name. "What is he like, this eh... O'Nei-"

"General Jack," his son interrupted. "He's got tons of medals and awards. Sage snuck us into his office once and he's got this awesome gun!"

"Your father has a gun too," Eleanor replied in a flat tone.

Billy turned around, facing them and pretended to hold a machine gun. "General Jack has one of those cool guns from the movies that go like rat-a-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat!"

"In his office?"

"No, Mom," he rolled his eyes. "Sage showed me a picture of him, her mom and uncles carrying them in his office. Her mom is pretty neat too! Oh and when we had that sleepover they let us watch the stars through a microscope on the roof!"

"Telescope," William corrected automatically. Who knows, it might actually turn out to be an interesting afternoon, he thought to himself as they made their way over to the car.

Carter-O'Neill Residence
Colorado Springs, Colorado

It was less than an hour before the party would start so after checking in with Cam to see how everything was going on base Sam left the home office and went to look for her husband and daughter after locking its door. Knowing them they were probably losing track of time while fooling around in the backyard under the pretext of getting everything ready, meaning it wouldn't hurt to check on them.

She stopped by the kitchen to get some water bottles from the fridge, a task that wasn't as easy as it sounded because of all the cups and pans of jello that were seemingly stashed randomly around the food and drinks that were placed in the appliance. But after rooting around she found three bottles and went out to the sliding doors leading to the backyard. The grill was already set up on the deck as expected but that was about the only thing she had expected in the yard!

There was a large inflatable paddle pool she had never seen before on the lawn, filled with something that looked awfully familiar - and it wasn't water. As she stepped onto the grass she spotted a couple of buckets with water and others filled with water balloons. Their usual hose was rolled out and next to it lay a twin, which by the looks of it was going to be connected to the kitchen's faucet through the opened window. Two extra lawn sprinklers were placed strategically in the middle of the grass and on the other side of their sizeable yard Sam could see Sage bent over a sprinkler head from their sprinkler system, appearing to be adjusting the spray under Jack's instructions.

"Excellent," Jack praised as their daughter stood and looked up at him. "Good job, munchkin. Why don't you go turn them on for a test run while I intercept your mom, okay?"

"Yessir!" Sage exclaimed, snapping off a sharp salute. Turning on her heels she ran towards Sam and the house, beaming with pride over her accomplishment. "Mommy, I futzed with the sprinklers! Daddy says I'm like you with doohickeys," she cried as she ran past.

Sam chuckled and looked over her shoulder as the girl ran up the steps before turning back to her husband, quickening her pace. "I see you've got our daughter roped into doing your dirty work," she teased, gesturing at the sprinklers.

Jack accepted one of the water bottles eagerly and quickly downed half of its content. "Yeah," he grinned, wrapping an arm around her and stuffing the bottle in the pocket of his zipped-off cargo pants. "Can't waste that Carter intellect! I would hate to see what she'd be capable of when bored after hearing the horror stories of your youth."

"Mark's stories are exaggerated," she replied. Smiling, she leaned into his toned chest, enjoying the feel of his strong arms around her.

"Maybe... but I've heard stories from Dad too. If it was just your brother I'd give you the benefit of the doubt but after hearing some of the things your dad and Selmak shared I'm inclined to believe Mark."

"Traitor," she muttered under her breath. "So... is everything set for the party?"

Jack nodded and indicated the sprinkler system and the hoses. "Yeah, almost done. Just got to test these babies, raid the linen closet for extra towels and double-check the contents of the cooler."

"Mrs Vogel and Billy will probably be here soon, if she hasn't changed her mind yet about supervising."

"Teresa said she'd come and help too and the Jenkins would be over around dinner time to help with the preparations and the kids."

She smiled, pleased that they had such great neighbors. All the time she had been living in her old house in Colorado Springs she'd hardly socialized with her neighbors and only knew their names because of the nosy old lady next door who felt it necessary to keep her apprised of certain things in the neighborhood. After she and Jack had moved back here almost a year ago they had quickly befriended Teresa and her husband, Ricardo Martinez, who were living next door.

Sam was under no illusions about the reasons of their friendship and knew it was all down to Jack, who was far more social than her when it came to things like these. It also helped that the Martinez's son, Rick, was just a year older than Sage and they got along great, often climbing the trees in both their backyards. Just last month she had heard Jack and Ricardo talking about building a tree house for the kids this summer but so far they hadn't made any definitive plans yet. The Jenkins were also a nice couple with seven-year-old twin daughters, Loren and Emma, and lived down the street.

"Let's move to the deck," Jack suggested, already steering them in that direction. "I could use a break and I doubt you want your nice sundress to get wet once Sage has finally managed to turn that sprinkler system on."

"Good point. Besides, she needs to drink something too in this heat."

He cast her a critical onceover, frowning behind his sunglasses. "Did you make sure to put on some sunscreen?"

"After getting dressed," Sam said. "I'll make sure to apply some more when the kids are all here; I'm not sure any of the parents have thought about sun protection for them."

"I bought extra, made sure to get waterproof too. We should make sure to apply some on Sage too after she's gotten dressed into her swimsuit," Jack commented. "The forecast said it was going to be a nice summer day but it's hotter than I'd expected. Maybe I'll check with Ricardo and see if we can borrow that huge party tent of his to provide some shade..."

Scanning the backyard as they reached the deck she grinned when suddenly the sprinkler system was turned on and water sprayed in all directions. "He might not want it to get wet."

"We can put it over the paddle pool, there are no sprinklers there."

"Speaking of which," she turned to him with a speculative gaze, "is that a new purchase, filled with jello?"

Jack gave her a roguish grin after plopping down on a lounge chair. "Maybe if you put on your bikini we could do a quick test run before the kids get here," he waggled his brows.

Sam was about to retort when Sage came running out of the house.

"Did it work, did it work? Daddy?"

"It certainly did," he replied, gesturing in the direction of the active sprinklers. "Whoa." He grabbed the hem of her shirt when she tried to run off towards it and pulled her into his lap. "You might want to wait getting wet until you have your swimsuit on, kiddo."

Carter-O'Neill Residence
Colorado Springs, Colorado

William waited for the driver to take off before parking his own car, watching as Eleanor and Billy walked up to the house belonging to the O'Neills. In the event the party was over in time or he could make his excuses and leave early he had decided to take his own car, following the family car with driver, to be able to visit the club afterwards on his own. Normally he would accompany his family in the car but from the O'Neills' address he could see this was a good enough neighborhood to park his precious car in.

Getting out he followed his wife and son up the path, locking the car with his key fob and he silently wondered why it was taking so long for someone to open the door. Before he could ask anything Billy was already coming towards him and Eleanor looked worked up over something as she retraced her steps.

"We can go around back, Dad."

"I cannot believe this," his wife was muttering as she came down the steps.

Thinking for a minute, he decided to ask what was wrong as their son walked over the grass to the side of the house. "What's the matter, dear? Are you afraid the O'Neills aren't home?" It would probably be a disappointment to Billy but he himself would still be able to get to the club for a late lunch. "You did inform them of what time we would be arriving, did you not?"

"Of course I did," Eleanor hissed. "There is a sign on the door. A sign! Handwritten, honest to God."

"A sign?"

Her face colored red with her frustrations - whether with the sign or him, he didn't know. "Yes, it said to 'go around back' if we were here for 'the birthday girl'!"

William suppressed a grin hearing his wife quote the sign with phrasing she wouldn't even think to use. "Well then, we might as well follow Billy."

"If these people cannot afford a maid or a butler, then what are they doing at our school?"

"I have no idea, dear."

Wobbling in the grass with her expensive designer shoes Eleanor grabbed his arm to steady herself. "The least they could do is open the door for their guests or hire someone for the occasion if they are unable to afford a fulltime help."

He glanced up at the house as they rounded it and while it was a lovely home and by the looks of it in good condition, it was more or less a standard suburban house. One in the highest price range but still nothing compared to his house, or even their vacation home but he figured it would be good enough for a retired general, his wife and their child. It certainly wasn't something he would associate with housekeepers or maids, let alone a butler. "They are probably preoccupied with the last preparations for the child's party."

"It's ill mannered to greet your guests with a handwritten sign telling them to enter through the yard."

"Would you have preferred the front door to be open to make your own way in?" William said, receiving a glare in return. Deciding to let the subject rest as they reached the high fence around the house and its yard, they went through the door their son had no doubt left open behind him. The yard was larger than he would have expected, probably similar in size as Eleanor's sizeable flower garden with its ridiculously large fountain and meditation area. This one had mostly grass, with what looked like a double garage at the end and some plants and flowers near the fence. A handful of trees were on the left side, their branches almost touching the neighbors' trees over the fence and there was a deck with a grill at the back of the house.

Billy was a few feet ahead of them and was heading into the direction of a man about William's age, with gray hair and wearing khaki shorts and a dark short-sleeved shirt. The man appeared to be setting up a frame for one of those portable canvas canopies the caterers often used to shield the buffets from the weather.

"General Jack!"

The man looked up at the greeting and smirked. "Hey Billy! Right on time, can you hold this for me?"

"Sure!" He replied, after high-fiving him.

"Oh for God's sake," Eleanor muttered beside William. "They are too cheap to hire someone to set up everything for their child's party and now he's enlisting our son?"

William didn't really see the problem as Billy appeared to enjoy being helpful for a change. His son usually wasn't very outgoing at home and hardly said a word, even Kindergarten hadn't made him more sociable. Very unlike the outspoken and sometimes mischievous boy he'd been himself, often getting into trouble and testing the patience of his nanny and sometimes even his parents - which was why he'd ended up in boarding school.

It hadn't been until Billy was in first grade that he started to be more outgoing and talkative... Before coming here he'd thought it was because the boy had started making some more friends and was just a late bloomer but perhaps it had more to do with the O'Neill girl and her family Billy was always talking about...

O'Neill quickly finished setting up the frame and then looked at them before telling Billy he'd done a good job and could let go now. "Those your folks?"

"Yessir!" Billy said, grabbing the man's arm and pulling him towards them. "This is my Mom and Dad."

"Hiya."

William felt his wife tense up at the greeting and mutter something that sounded suspiciously like 'dear God' when the man held out his hand. "Eleanor Vogel," she replied in a cool tone, giving a weak handshake before releasing and gesturing at him. "My husband, William Vogel III."

"Jack O'Neill," he said, taking off his sunglasses and shaking William's hand. Holding up two fingers, he grinned. "Two l's."

"A pleasure to meet you."

"Back at'cha."

William chuckled softly at the man's reply, getting the feeling he was doing it on purpose to rile Eleanor and maybe himself. But he wasn't fooled when he saw the intelligence in those brown eyes. Besides, stupid people didn't make it up to the higher ranks in the military. At least, he hoped not. "Billy told us you were in the military?"

"Yeah, Air Force... Nice of you folks to volunteer to help us out with Sage's party. Speaking of which; Sage and my wife, Sam, are inside getting some last minute things. I'm sure they'll be out soon." He turned to Billy and clasped the boy's shoulder. "Why don't you go say hi to Sage and then put on your swimming shorts in the bathroom. You know the way, right?"

"Okay!" The three of them all watched as Billy ran off towards the back door.

Eleanor straightened and after removing her sunglasses she peered around the backyard in disapproval. "I thought it prudent to offer our assistance; with so many children the right supervision is important. I heard from of our friends, the Prescotts, they were sending their nanny but I felt our own would be better off staying at home with our two eldest, while William and I would assist here."

"Ah yes, Madeleine's parents mentioned her nanny dropping the girl off," O'Neill mentioned. "She, the nanny, usually stays here when Madeleine comes over to play with Sage and then takes her back home at the end of the day."

"This way we also have the opportunity to get to know one another better. I don't believe we've ever been formally introduced, Mr. O'Neill and I've never met your wife either."

William was starting to feel the summer heat with his shirt and jacket on and longingly looked around for a shadowed area as his wife and O'Neill were talking. There was some shade near the trees, garages and on the deck but other than that there was a lot of sun. He eyed the canopy's frame as he silently congratulated himself on wearing just a two-piece suit instead of adding his usual waistcoat. "Perhaps we should finish the canopy before the children arrive."

"Sure," O'Neill said warily. "Why don't you take a seat on the deck Mrs Vogel, while Bill and I put the canvas on the party tent. That way you can supervise while we do some heavy lifting."

"A fine idea. Perhaps Billy and your family will be out soon, too," Eleanor said.

Shrugging out of his jacket at his wife's insistence William unbuttoned his sleeves and rolled them up. "Very well," he grudgingly agreed while she walked over to the deck.

"Excellent," O'Neill smirked, putting his sunglasses back on and reaching for the canvas. "Ever done something like this before, Trip?"

Sage and her friends were in the living room and from her position in the kitchen Sam was keeping an eye on them as she made more drinks. Teresa had brought a few gallons of homemade iced tea with her when she and her son Rick had come over and it had been an instant hit with most of the children and the few parents who'd bothered to stay for a minute after dropping their child off. She thought she'd even overheard Mrs Vogel inquire about it. The other kids wanted Kool-Aid and since Jack hadn't thought of making it beforehand Sam was now making a few extra pitchers to place in the fridge. With the hot weather it was important for everyone to drink plenty of fluids but the children especially because they were going to be the most active.

Almost all the kids were present, only the Jenkins twins and one girl from school whose nanny was supposed to bring her over weren't there yet. They all seemed eager to go outside and play some of the games Jack had made up but they first had to get changed into their swimwear. Right now they were taking turns in the bathrooms and bedrooms to get dressed and once they were done they came to the living room where Teresa was helping them put on sunscreen.

"Hey kids, look what I found lurking around the fence?" Jack questioned as he came through the sliding doors with the identical Jenkins girls, one arm wrapped around each twin and holding them horizontally at his side.

"Loren and Emma!" Sage squealed, pointing at them in case her school friends hadn't seen them yet.

To Sam's surprise the private school kids were all hanging back a bit, as if unsure what to think of the giggling girls dangling in the air. The others Sage knew from sports and who went to public school were all much more outgoing and had no trouble approaching the others even though they didn't know them. It made her wonder if it was down to the sort of school or the kind of families these children came from. From the glimpses she'd caught of the more elitist parents she was willing to bet it was the latter. Even Billy had been much shyer and more introvert when Sage had first dragged him through the school gates announcing to Jack that her new friend was coming home with her to play. It was only after a few weeks that the boy had become more animated.

"General Jack!" Loren cried, in between giggles when he pretended to drop the girls.

"Please, put us down, Sir," Emma chimed in, also giggling like mad.

It was funny how Sam was able to tell the girls apart in spite of them being identical twins and yet she couldn't tell the boys or girls from school apart. At least Jack could, she knew. The other kids from karate, ballet and the neighborhood were more familiar to her simply because she saw more of them, either around the house or when she took Sage to training. But it was a strange realization that she hardly knew some of her daughter's new friends, even though the reason behind it - being in charge of the SGC - was perfectly acceptable.

"Maybe I should take you back outside," Jack said in a mock-menacing voice, "and drop you in the jello pool!"

"Yes, yes, yes!" The other children, including Sage were chanting.

The twins were trying to wriggle out of his grasp, protesting loudly while he retraced his steps with the rest of the children on his heels. "An excellent idea of your mom to send you over here in your swimsuits already," he chuckled.

"Nooo," Loren pleaded, nearly bumping her legs against the kitchen island as they passed it. "General Sam, help me!"

Suddenly over a dozen pair of eyes turned to her. She couldn't help but sympathize with the girls and relented. "Jack, let those poor girls go."

"No Daddy, throw them in!"

Like Sam Jack seemed surprise by their daughter and slowly lowered the twins to the floor; clearly he never intended to actually throw them in. "Well, we don't want to upset your friends when they came all this way for your party, with presents no less, Sage! Although it would have been interesting to see which of you would win when doing battle in jello..."

"Maybe in a bit," Sam added when all the kids nodded. "First everyone has to get ready to play outside and get a snack and their drinks from the counter, okay kids? Oh and don't forget to use the bathroom before you get your swimwear all wet."

A chorus of "Yeah", "Yessir" and "Yes Ma'am" sounded in enthusiastic high-pitched voices, even from the more reserved private school children.

She smiled when the last two girls and a boy from school grabbed their bag and dashed off to get changed into their swimwear after Jane and Mallory from ballet returned to the living room, the former in a pink swimsuit and the latter in a yellow one with monkey heads on it.

Jane made her way over to the kitchen and climbed on one of the barstools, batting her green eyes at Sam. "General Sam, can I pick a drink?"

"Sure sweetie," she gestured at the cups with iced tea and Kool-Aid in front of the brown-haired girl. After taking the kids' 'orders' she'd placed all the drinks and lots of jello snacks on the counter so they could help themselves, but most seemed preoccupied with getting changed, putting sunscreen on or admiring the large stack of presents in the living room. "Just don't forget to put some sunscreen on before you go outside."

"I won't, promise!"

Sam looked over the seven-year-old girl's head into the living room, looking for her husband. It seemed Jack had managed to sneak out again after releasing the Jenkins girls. He was probably putting the Vogels to work and relishing the opportunity. He hadn't said it with so many words but the moment Billy had come upstairs this afternoon to say hi and get changed into his shorts she had looked out the window to get a glimpse of the boy's parents, just in time to see a smirking Jack instructing William Vogel to put the canvas on the party tent's frame.

So far she hadn't had time herself to go outside and introduce herself, too busy keeping an eye on the kids and making sure everyone had something to drink and snack on. It was the first time she was surrounded by so many children but luckily Teresa had been helping her out in the kitchen and living room while Jack was outside with the Vogels to do some final preparations and greet the children and their families as they came by.

Her eyes landed on Sage and she couldn't suppress a smile as she saw her daughter giggling with her friends as they sprayed the blue waterproof sunscreen Jack had bought on each other before rubbing it into their own skin. Teresa was double-checking them to ensure they hadn't missed a spot and helped with their backs and necks and since all the drinks and snacks were done for now, Sam's gaze lingered on her daughter.

It was wonderful to see the soon-to-be seven-year-old girl surrounded by so many friends. It had worried both her and Jack when they were told of her promotion and reassignment to Colorado Springs after Sage had just finished Kindergarten at her private school in DC and had made friends there. They had also befriended people, mostly other military people, some neighbors and the parents of Sage's friends. Surprisingly while some of those were elitist like the ones here in Colorado, most of them had been refreshingly normal and fortunately some of the children had been military brats too, like Colonel Davis' son Paul Junior.

But it seemed like they shouldn't have been worried at all, considering they had fifteen kids over today. Most from school, a few from the neighborhood and the others Sage had befriended in afterschool activities. Apparently their little whirlwind had made more than enough friends this past year in this new town and in first grade of her new school. By the looks of it all the children - from school and otherwise - were now warming up to each other and would probably be having a blast together as the day went on.

Sam wasn't really concerned about the parents of Sage's new friends, although she wouldn't like it if they judged her daughter on her background, like Mrs Vogel had already seemed to do on the phone yesterday. Hopefully today would help show the Vogels that all the children were simply that; children. Ones that liked to have fun and enjoyed playing together, no matter who their parents were. Even if that wouldn't happen she hoped they wouldn't forbid their son to socialize with Sage, just because she and Jack weren't their kind of people and didn't move in the same circles.

Jack glanced at his watch and seeing it had been ten minutes since Madeleine and her nanny had finally arrived and gone inside to get the girl into her bathing suit, he decided it was time for the party to get really started. Leaning down he grabbed the hose and took a few steps back. "Oh kids, c'mon outside!"

Within seconds he could hear them chatting and laughing and then the first ones came through the door and down the steps of the deck, onto the lawn and mere feet away from him. Grinning, he aimed the hose and pulled its lever. The children shrieked and yelled as the spray of water hit them and quickly dashed away into the yard, trying to get out of his reach.

"Aahh!"

"Daddy!"

"Ieeh!"

He laughed at the sight of the frolicking boys and girls as they all tried to run from the deck to the safe area on the other side of the yard, where Sage and the others were encouraging them to make a run for it. Eight, nine, ten... the eleventh kid, Calvin Banks, let out a triumphant shout as he ran as fast as his short legs would carry him across the lawn and he was almost safe when Jack managed to hit him on the shoulders and head with the hose. The boy's friends all laughed at his soaked hair but Jack didn't have the time to check out the drowned cat look because he had another runner!

Fair-haired Bobby Jones in his blue shorts with sharks on it managed to duck the spray and safely arrive on the other side, out of the hose's range. Jack's eyes went back to the deck, where only Loren, Emma, Jane and Tobias Whittaker were still standing. The chubby boy seemed to be hiding behind the girls and wasn't looking too confident about getting across without getting hit. The twins were both grinning, Loren in her Stars and Stripes swimsuit and Emma in her light blue one, and suddenly dashed off simultaneously, each zigzagging across the grass making it more difficult for him to hit them.

"Ha," Jack exclaimed, after managing to hit both girls. "They didn't make me general for nothing, kids."

The children chuckled as the girls joined them and turned their attention on the last two on the other side.

"Come on, Janie!" Mallory shouted, beckoning her over with her hand.

"You too, Tobias. Come on! Just run already," Edward yelled.

"It's just water," Sage chimed in, "you're not made of sugar!"

All eyes were now on the pair on the steps, even the Vogels had their attention focused on the youngsters and Jack was beginning to feel sorry for the two wide-eyed youngsters so he lowered his nozzle. "Go on, both of you. I'll give you a five-second head start, okay?" He waited until Jane grabbed Tobias' hand and started counting down as they ran off.

They were already halfway down the lawn when he pulled the lever again and managed to hit the girl square on her back and the boy's lower legs before they were out of the hose's reach. Tobias was panting with the effort and either let himself fall or tripped somehow because he fell to the grass, accidentally pulling Jane, who was still holding his hand, with him. All the kids were laughing when they both rolled onto their backs to bask in the sun and Jeremiah and Charlotte dropped down on their knees to join them when suddenly the sprinkler system was turned on. A loud chorus of "Ieeh!", "aah!" and "eek!" sounded from the first graders as they jumped up and tried to get away from the sprays of water.

Jack was laughing as they ran around the grass trying to escape the sprinklers, while Billy put his foot down on a sprinkler head to direct the water in Sage's direction, who yelped when the water hit her in the chest. Looking at the deck Jack saw that Billy's father seemed amused but the boy's mother was still wearing her sour look. From his periphery he saw something blue at the sliding doors and turning that way, he saw Sam coming outside with a big grin on her face. Clearly she had been waiting to turn on the sprinkler system; they'd always been good at teamwork.

"Carter! Come help me with these rascals," he shouted, indicating the unused hose near his feet.

"No fair, Daddy," Sage yelled as she struggled with Billy over the sprinkler head.

"Yes Sir," Sam snapped off a smart salute and quickly joined him at his side. Leaning down she grabbed the other hose and started testing its range, managing to hit Kristy and Mallory. "Did you have a strategy in mind, Jack?"

He smirked and winked at her. "Hey, I'm retired! I'll just follow your lead, General Carter." Distracted by her smile he let his guard down and was suddenly hit on the chest by something wet... a water balloon! His eyes quickly found the culprit in the form of a giggling soon-to-be seven-year-old Sage, kneeling by one of the buckets filled with balloons. "Oh, that little..."

"C'mon you guys!" The girl beckoned over her friends and started handing out water balloons in retaliation.

"Seems like that target practice of yours has paid off," Sam cheekily remarked as she eyed his wet shirt. "Let's divide and conquer."

Jack could feel the eyes of the Vogels, Madeleine's nanny and Teresa on him but ignored them and quickly shucked his wet shirt, tossing it in the direction of the deck before following Sam's hand signals. They moved together, on opposite sides of the yard, intent on circling their lovely daughter and her friends if their hoses would allow it. He quickly dived to the side and rolled over his shoulder when another balloon came flying in his direction and took shelter behind the jello pool. "This means war, kids," he yelled over the pool, watching as Sam hid behind a large flowerpot.

"Bring it on, General Jack!" One of the cheeky kids shouted back, followed by another balloon.

"You bet I will," he replied, leaning up and shooting water in their direction. He managed to hit two boys and Sam, who rose simultaneously, got Sage and Billy with her shot. One of the balloons that had been thrown his way had landed in the jello pool so Jack reached into the sticky, wobbly stuff to retrieve it and managed to throw it at Bobby's behind as the kids tried to sneak off towards a second bucket of balloons.

To his surprise Sam was only hit once as she ran from her hiding place to a larger bucket, holding a mix of water balloons actually filled with water and the rest with jello. Her legs were the only parts of her that got wet as she slid to her knees over the wet grass, not caring about her pretty blue summer dress and resumed her attack.

He rose, using his hose as a water cannon to prevent the kids from moving to the next bucket in his line of vision as she kept them from coming towards her. "Surrender or be doused in water, you cheeky monkeys!" Sam announced when it became clear the kids had gone through their ammo.

The children all looked to their ringleader Sage "Whirlwind" O'Neill, who solemnly yet reluctantly nodded. "We surrender!"

"Sweet!" Jack got up, ignoring his cracking knees and threw the hose away. Normally he wouldn't approach his enemy without a weapon but the hose had already been stretched to its limits and he was pretty sure it couldn't go another feet. Besides, he had Sam watching his six as he made his way over to the kids - and he wouldn't have it any other way. "You, oh sandy-haired one," he pointed at their daughter, "come closer."

Sage's solemn expression had made way for a cute pout but now she was clearly fighting a grin as her friends pushed her forward. "I have no balloons, Daddy," she said, holding her hands up.

"You better not!" He quickly moved in and snatched her up from the ground, lifting her horizontally in his arms. "But I still think you need to pay for turning on your poor parents. Carter?"

"The jello pool, Sir," she said with a beaming smile, while holding the other kids at bay with her hose. He knew she would 'fire' if they moved towards the other bucket and the only other way they could go was back, meaning they'd be in range of the sprinkler system again.

"Excellent!"

Their daughter squirmed in his arms, trying valiantly to get out of his hold. "Nooo, someone help me!"

He knew it was an act though as she was giggling loudly, her small frame shaking with it. "Aw, c'mon, munchkin. Someone has to go first and I think the birthday girl should be that person."

"Mommy!" Sage cried out as he turned her upside down in his arms, holding her legs against his shoulder.

"I'm right here, sweetie," Sam replied, suddenly appearing next to them.

From the corner of his eye Jack saw the other kids were all standing next to her, big grins on their faces while they were all dripping with water. Not that he'd fared any better. His hair and torso were wet and there were water spatters on his cargo shorts too, unlike Sam who was still dry with the exception of her shins. "Ready?"

"Do it, General Jack!"

"Yes, do it!"

Sage's friends all started chanting as they looked between the green jello and the girl dangling above it. "Do it, do it!"

Jack grabbed her by the ankles and slowly lowered her into the pool, while she was wiggling and laughing. "No giggling!"

"But Daddy!" She chuckled, her face colored red from all the laughing and her blood running to her head.

"You don't want to accidentally swallow any of it, do you?" He warned her, smirking as there was only a few inches left between her head and the jello. Her hair was already hanging into it, its tips colored green as she kept shaking her head and trying to squirm free. "There ya go, munchkin!"

Sage visibly took a gulp of air and nodded before he lowered her body and she disappeared into the green stuff as he released her ankles. Seconds later she came up again, giggling madly with green blobs of jello in her hair and on her face as she sat in the pool. "Awesome!"

"Anyone wants to join-" Sam started but stopped speaking when suddenly a bunch of the kids tried to climb into the pool. "I guess you do..."

Jack stepped up to her side, sliding his arm around her and pulling her against his chest. "Had fun?"

"Yeah sure you betcha," she replied, squeezing his hand. "Let's get something to drink and talk to our fellow supervisors while the kids play in the pool."

"Good idea," he muttered, when some of the jello went flying his way because of their playing. His hand found hers, their fingers entwining and he pulled her towards the deck as he shook his head to get rid of the last bit of water in his hair. "Skip, Eleanor, my wife Sam-"

"Samantha Carter-O'Neill," Sam introduced herself, smiling at the Vogels.

Jack saw the disdainful look on Eleanor's face while her husband's look was more of admiration as he gave her a onceover. Oh great! "Sam, Eleanor Vogel and her husband William Vogel III."

"It's nice to finally meet Billy's parents, Mr. and Mrs Vogel," she replied.

"The pleasure is all mine, Mrs O'Neill."

She made a dismissive wave with her hand. "Oh, just call me Sam."

"William, please."

Jack was about to make a comment when he heard Sage call out for him so after exchanging looks with Sam, he went to see what was wrong with their daughter while she entertained their guests. With a few quick steps he was near the pool where their daughter was just climbing out of, slick with green jello and covered in jello blobs but other than that there didn't seem to be anything wrong with her. "What is it, munchkin?"

"Where's the soap slide, Daddy?"

Crap! He'd totally forgotten about their little project! All the necessary materials were in the garage, next to her present but it had completely slipped his mind when setting everything up today. "D'oh! Don't worry, I'll put it up now while you go back to playing with your friends."

"Yay!" She gave him the megawatt smile she'd inherited from her mom.

Jack went back to the deck and jerked his head in their daughter's direction. "I forgot to put up the soap slide so I'm going to do it now, if you can keep an eye on the kids."

"A soap slide," Sam reiterated.

"Yeah," he grinned, "one of those slip 'n slides. There was one in that Geek Dad book your brother gave me for Christmas last year and Sage had picked it out for us to make together; it's going to be huge, perfect for a party!"

She gave him one of her familiar looks but sighed and relented after a few seconds. "Fine, but I'll help you. I think I know what you mean and I'm sure we can put it up together much faster without the book."

Jack had no doubt they could; she probably only had to look at the materials to know what they were for and would instinctively know what to do with them, while he'd have to check the book... well, first find it, because he had no idea where he'd left it two weeks ago. "Excellent."

"Teresa went home to walk their dog but said she'll be back in an hour or so. I'm sure William and Eleanor won't mind watching the children while we set it up," Sam said sweetly.

Carter-O'Neill Residence
Colorado Springs, Colorado

William had to admit - at least to himself - that this afternoon wasn't as horrible as he had expected. As a matter of fact, it was quite entertaining. His eyes went back to the jello pool where children were clambering in and out of it only to jump back in, making a big splash and sending the gelatin flying everywhere. Billy looked delighted as the children pushed each other around, throwing jello at each other and just laughing. William couldn't remember the last time he'd seen the kid smile so much.

The O'Neills were certainly a strange bunch but from the looks of it most of the children liked them, some even seemed to adore them. The pair appeared to be hands-on parents, almost an alien phenomenon in William's world and it made him wonder if that was the reason the party was such a success. Their daughter, Sage, was a confident little girl and from the way she interacted with her parents he deduced it was down to her upbringing. She was clearly the apple of their eye and probably had her father wrapped around her little finger.

Now it looked like she was even rubbing off on Billy and some of the other children, who seemed to be taking their cues from her, with her enthusiasm and antics. It hadn't escaped William that the girl had been "in charge" during the water fight against her parents despite being one of the younger ones, perhaps even the youngest if she was turning seven later this week.

It had been shocking to him to see the adult O'Neills participate in the children's game. They hadn't simply sprayed some water on the little ones like O'Neill had done when they first came out, to get them in the mood and ready to play with themselves and the water... No, the two had actively participated, forming a front against the kids and attacking like a team!

Unlike him the children had appeared to be expecting it, therefore he assumed it wasn't the first time they had played games like these with the children. Eleanor had been even more shocked at the behavior displayed by the pair and had muttered something about etiquette, as her blood pressure seemed to be steadily climbing. She had even audibly gasped when Mrs O'Neill - Sam, as she'd told him to call her - had slid across the grass, heedless of her dress and grazing her knees with the move. Once William had been certain his wife would be fine and was merely working herself up over the water fight, he had turned his attention back to it as well. Having overcome the initial shock he'd found it amusing. Odd, but amusing to see the two adults engaged in the children's game.

Now he and Eleanor had been left in charge of supervising the children's play while the two O'Neills set up another game, whatever it may be. William watched as Sam and her husband laid out a roll of plastic and placed a bunch of those cylindrical pieces of foam they had at home in their indoor swimming pool at either side of the plastic. Pool noodles Billy called the things, if he recalled correctly. Since the boy couldn't swim yet the nannies would often take him in the shallow end of the pool with the colorful things while his sisters played with those 'noodles' in the deep end. One time he'd seen the children use them as weapons too, pretending they were swords or something...

"... barefooted and those swimsuits!"

"What?" William asked absentmindedly when Eleanor's nattering drew him from his thoughts.

"I said," his wife said in exasperation, "that those children are wearing awful swimsuits."

He glanced back to the pool, looking at the bathing suits the youngsters were wearing. Sage O'Neill was wearing a green thing with black dots on it, one girl was wearing pink, her friend purple, another yellow with animal heads on it, one of the twins was wearing an American flag themed suit and the other a light blue one, almost the same color as one of the boys' shorts, decorated with sharks and the boy from next door was wearing red trunks. The other children were all wearing the school's bathing suit or shorts, even though most of them couldn't swim yet. "They look fine."

"Obviously those others aren't from our school... probably public school children. The O'Neills should set a good example for their daughter but clearly they aren't even trying, with her mother wearing such a-ah, a dress," Eleanor said. The corners of her mouth were drooping, the only indication she was disgusted but after the years of her spa retreats he'd learned to read her minimal facial expressions quite well. Mostly for self-protection, knowing she could get bothered or upset at the slightest thing that didn't fit with her view. "And barefooted, all of them."

"They're on a lawn, dear. Why should they wear shoes or other footwear?" A look at her feet showed him she'd tried to remove the lumps of grass that had gotten caught on her designer heels and he briefly wondered what the O'Neills would think of someone ruining their lawn with those spiky things. There were probably holes all the way from the grass on the front of the house, near the side to the back deck from the path they had taken here. Somehow he didn't think it would bother them too much, considering the canopy and other things they had set up. Their landscaper certainly wouldn't get reprimanded or fired over it - if they even had one.

"They shouldn't be participating in such activities at all."

"Oh lighten up, Eleanor," William said with a small smile. "Billy seems to be enjoying himself immensely. I've never seen or heard of him spending this much time outdoors in a week, let alone one afternoon. Whittaker's fat kid hardly ever leaves the couch and can't even make it one lap with the personal trainer they've hired for him. Now look at the boy; he's been running around since he got here and hasn't even gotten it through his thick head that he's supposed to be tired after all this physical exercise."

She looked around until her eyes landed on the child in question and gave a brief nod. "I suppose that is a valid argument. His parents will be pleased with this, no doubt. Although I'm certain they would disapprove of the method, like I do."

"Whittaker complained about the boy himself during lunch last week."

"They never should have allowed him to gain this much weight in the first place. I blame that Mexican chef of theirs and his nanny. Don't they know he's supposed to be on a diet?"

William could care less about Whittaker's kid but it would be extremely gratifying if this meant he wouldn't have to listen to the man moan about his son's shortcomings. Perhaps he should have been more careful with his extramarital affairs, then his wife wouldn't have found out and they'd never gotten the divorce that was the supposed cause for the boy's 'comfort eating' as the psychiatrist Whittaker had hired had concluded. It also would have prevented Whittaker from getting his secretary pregnant and losing half his fortune to his greedy ex-wife ...

Of course, all these developments meant William himself now had two separate accounts - one for Whittaker and one for his ex-wife - instead of just the Whittakers as one client, so he probably shouldn't be complaining. Besides, he'd been suffering through those monthly lunches for years already to keep his boring and obnoxious client happy; in his experience the topic of conversation didn't really matter anyway.

"Don't you think those public school boys are being awfully unruly and rowdy with Billy?"

"Yes dear," he replied. "Why don't you speak to Billy about it and keep a closer eye on those rascals."

"Very well. Could you look around for that housekeeper and have her refill my iced tea while I'm away?"

William watched as his wife took off in the direction of the jello pool on her wobbly heels without waiting for a response. It probably wouldn't be of much use to once again tell her the 'housekeeper' was actually the O'Neills' neighbor who had been kind enough to help out today and share her homemade iced tea as O'Neill had told him earlier.

Getting up, he walked over to the couple, curious to see this plastic thing they were creating. Sam was attaching the last pool noodle on the opposite end of the plastic, giving him - and probably her husband - an excellent view down her dress as she was hunched over. With effort he tore his gaze away from her attributes as he came up to her husband's side. He swallowed convulsively when O'Neill glared at him, seemingly aware of where his eyes had been just seconds ago.

William was tempted to tell him he should be proud of having such an attractive wife but considering the man had been Air Force, apparently had experience with machine guns if Billy was to be believed and had showcased his excellent aim during the water fight earlier, he decided against it. Instead he pretended not to notice the glare and kept his eyes averted from the lovely Samantha while she was sitting there - luckily he was wearing his sunglasses so O'Neill couldn't be certain where his eyes had been, exactly.

"Just in time, Trip. We need to flip the slide, you stand there and lift it," O'Neill brusquely instructed.

With less effort than he'd expected he lifted it and easily flipped it over, ignoring how the O'Neills were just watching him instead of helping. "There."

"Excellent."

Sam got up, absentmindedly brushing some grass off her dress and knees and gestured to the other side. "Jack, you and William need to pull the plastic really taut and then stake the front but make sure to bunch it, otherwise it might tear."

"You heard the woman, Bill. Time to earn your dinner," O'Neill quipped.

Doing as told, he helped the man pull the plastic and then they both staked it to the grass. Like he had suspected they didn't seem to be bothered with the holes in their lawn at the slightest. "Like that?"

"Hmm, good job," Sam commented from behind them, before picking up the last stakes. "I'll need someone to help me do the same on the other side."

William quickly followed her to the end of the 'slide', noting with amusement how she was indeed barefooted. He silently wondered what Eleanor's reaction would be if he told her there were even some mud streaks and grass strands sticking to Sam's lower legs and feet. "Just pull it taut and stake the plastic again?"

"Yes please," she said with a smile. "Jack, you can get the hoses and place them on either side, but don't turn them on yet."

He watched as her husband went to the side, where they'd left the hoses after their water fight and helped her with the plastic. "Now what?"

"I'll check the garage to see if there's another noodle to wrap this excess plastic in."

"As a stop."

She grinned and shot him an amused glance. "Or a speed bump, depending on the velocity of the slider. Why don't you help Jack set up the hoses and maybe add one or both of the special lawn sprinklers."

Sam shielded her eyes from the sun as she came back out of the garage and made her way over to the soap slide. One lonely pool noodle had been waiting for her and she'd also checked on Sage's present, making sure everything was okay. There wasn't any real reason her daughter should go into the garage on her own, especially not during summer vacation but still Sam and Jack had both kept an eye on it since yesterday to prevent her from discovering her birthday present too soon. Fortunately, she hadn't made a move towards the garage so far, too busy with the preparations for her party to even think about looking for her present.

When Sam came closer to the slide she saw Jack had added the hoses and one of the lawn sprinklers. She pulled her dress up slightly and kneeled at the end of the slide to cover the pool noodle with the excess plastic, ensuring the water would stay on the plastic instead of disappearing into the grass. Looking up she noticed William Vogel watching her from where he stood near the deck. A quick glance around the backyard showed her everyone but Jack was accounted for. Figuring her husband was inside she smiled at William and gestured at the slide as she got up. "Tell Jack it's ready and that he can turn on the water."

After the little impromptu water fight with the children earlier they had turned the water for the sprinklers and hoses off, not wanting to waste it while the children were playing with the jello. She watched as William went up the steps and stuck his head inside the opened sliding doors to alert Jack. Eyeing the hoses and lawn sprinkler Sam calculated the water sprays that would soon follow and quickly took a few steps back, to prevent from getting wet. So far she had managed to keep her blue halter dress dry, after all.

A few seconds later water started coming out of the lawn sprinkler and one hose, followed by its twin a moment later. "It's working," she called out, watching as the plastic got covered in a layer of water.

"Sweet!" Jack exclaimed as he came out of the house. As he walked over, gesturing for William to follow him, the sprinkler system a few feet away kicked in as well. "You squirt some of this on that end while I do this side," he instructed the other man, handing him a bottle.

"Baby shampoo?"

"It's non-irritating for the eyes," Jack said defensively.

Sam smirked as she recognized the bottle of baby soap her husband was using. He was right about the detergent's properties, which was why they'd bought it in the first place for their baby. But over the years Jack had continued buying it, claiming Sage liked it and it was good for her but it hadn't escaped Sam's attention that he used it as well. Not that she was complaining; it made his hair really soft.

Turning her attention back to the slide, she quirked a brow at him. "Now what? How are you going to tear them away from the jello pool? If there's any jello left in it," she added once she saw the children and the surrounding grass was covered in blobs of jello.

"I was making extra water balloons in the kitchen... Trip, you can finish that and put them all in the large black tub near the counter and bring them outside once you're done," Jack instructed.

Sam walked up to her husband when William immediately took off to fulfill the task he'd been given. "You like bossing him around, don't you?"

"Maybe."

"I could hear the smirk in your voice from thirty feet away."

Jack shrugged but couldn't hide his roguish grin. "Hey, he and his wife wanted to see how the other half lives... I'm just giving him some extra experience."

"Hm," she said noncommittally. Eying the swirling soap on the slide she estimated it was ready for use and then glanced over at the pool. "We should have someone do a test run."

"Go ahead."

"Me?"

Placing his hands on her waist Jack pulled her against his body. "Yes, you. I'm pretty sure you've already calculated the velocity of your run, when to jump on it and how far you'll slide, General Doctor Carter-O'Neill. Besides," he grinned, his dark eyes giving her a slow onceover, "I know you're wearing your bikini underneath that pretty dress of yours."

"You're the one who went through all the trouble of making this," she countered, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"You helped."

"But you bought all the materials and everything."

He shrugged. "You could always ask one of the kids."

Sam looked over to where Eleanor Vogel was telling the children to behave while they were playing in the jello and chuckled softly at the sight. "I'm glad the kids are enjoying themselves."

"Of course they do; they're kids, they like playing with yucky and sticky stuff and running across the grass with the sprinkler installation on," Jack replied as he turned around to watch them as well.

"I hadn't expected Sage to make over a dozen friends in less than a year."

"She's a little ringleader."

"She takes after you then."

He grinned and pressed a kiss to her temple. "Nah. She's got a bit of both of us, Ma'am."

Sam leaned her weight against him, her head resting on his bare shoulder. "We should probably call the kids over... God, I can't even tell them apart."

"The twins?"

"Surprisingly, I have no trouble with them. No, Sage's school friends. I feel like I hardly know them."

He squeezed her waist gently. "That's because you're keeping the planet safe and by the time you get home the kids are usually gone already. You know Billy already and Madeleine."

"That's the girl with the nanny right?" She frowned, her eyes landing on the nanny who was standing under the party tent at a safe distance from the jello, but close enough to dive in to save the girl if it happened to be necessary for some mysterious reason. From the few glimpses Sam had caught of her she knew the young woman was definitely dedicated to her job. It made her wonder if Madeleine's parents were anything like the Vogels, meaning she was closer to her nanny than them.

"Yeah. The chubby kid is Tobias Whittaker and the girl with the black hair who is licking the jello off her arm is Charlotte Lancaster. The two playing with Sage are Jeremiah Cutler and Avery Montgomery."

Sam tried to locate their sandy-haired daughter between all the children. "Who's who?"

Jack gave her a strange look, something between confusion and amusement. "Well, it's real simple, Carter; Jeremiah is the boy and Avery the girl."

"Oh," she said, feeling stupid. These days it was hard to keep up with all the unisex names!

"Rumor has it that Montgomery senior gave up hope for a namesake after getting five daughters, four of whom were supposedly born via C-section."

"Supposedly?"

He nodded, a small smile playing on his lips. "Yeah, it's all very hush-hush. Those things aren't discussed but one of the nannies said Avery's mom was apparently too posh to push."

"So they named their last daughter after Montgomery senior?" Sam asked, barely keeping from snorting; it felt like she'd ended up in a bad soap opera and she couldn't believe Jack was actually listening to and relaying gossip.

"Indeed. Oh, and that brown-haired kid is Edward Richardson and the one with the black hair is Calvin Banks."

She nodded slowly, trying to link the names to the faces and commit them to memory. "Okay, good. I already know the others from karate, ballet and the neighborhood."

"Think we should save Eleanor from the kids before she gets jello on her fancy outfit?"

"Sure, why not. I wouldn't want to be responsible for ruining her expensive shoes with jello, after all," Sam quipped, grabbing his hand and pulling him towards the pool.

"Mommy, Daddy! This is awesome!" Sage cried when they came closer, her new haircut slicked back with green jello. "Oooh, I know, I know!" She climbed out of the pool and ran up to them, not even bothering to dislodge some of the blobs of gelatin on her body. "Jonah toss me, Daddy, Jonah toss!"

Jack leaned down and effortlessly picked her up, not paying any attention to the jello she was covered in. "We can't toss you into it, munchkin. The pool isn't deep enough, that's not safe. Besides, all your friends are in it too!"

"Everybody, move! My Mom and Dad are going to Jonah toss me!"

Sam rolled her eyes at their daughter's impatience - clearly something she had gotten from Jack - and the way she only picked up on what she wanted to hear, ignoring the rest of Jack's explanation. To her surprise Sage's young friends all moved aside, some of them climbing out of the pool and others pressing themselves against the wall. She wondered if they even knew what the girl was talking about; after all, it was something she and Jack always did to her at the cabin ever since she had heard the story about how Jonah had been tossed into the water by fishermen and then swallowed by a whale.

"Please, Mommy?"

Startled from her thoughts, she looked into the wide eyes of her daughter and could feel herself relenting already. Damn. The look Jack was throwing her told her he was tempted to toss her into it as well, probably not wanting to 'ruin' her otherwise fabulous birthday party. "Maybe if we do it gently," she heard herself say.

"Yay!"

Jack sighed and lowered the slippery form of his daughter to the grass, holding onto her wrists. "C'mon Carter."

Sam seemed reluctant and sent him a clear warning with her eyes to be careful since the pool was much shallower than the lake at the cabin. "Okay, okay," she relented, bending down to grab their daughter's ankles.

"Watch everyone!" Sage yelled at her friends.

He couldn't help but grin at the girl's laughter when he and Sam started to gently swing her as they moved closer to the pool. "On three, okay kids?"

"One..." They all chorused. "Two..."

"Three!" Sage, her friends and even he and Sam yelled as they carefully tossed her into the pool.

Sage managed a little squeal before she hit the jello. "Whee!"

"Fun?" Jack chuckled as she sat up, sputtering and laughing and the other kids cheered.

"Now us, General Jack!"

"Me, me!"

"Jonah toss me, please?"

"General Sam, pick me!"

He exchanged looks with Sam and then let out a dramatic sigh. "Okay, here's the deal. We'll toss each of you once and when you get out of the pool you have to run through the sprinkler field and wait for us at the soap slide. Understood?"

A chorus of "Yes Sir!" sounded from the excited children.

"Sage, you first," Sam gestured for her to follow Jack's instructions and cross the field. "Everyone line up!"

Jack had just grabbed the first kid's wrists when William Vogel came back outside, holding the tub of water balloons. "Mrs Vogel, why don't you help your husband with the water balloons? There are some in the refrigerator as well and they can be collected in one of the buckets and placed opposite the slip 'n slide behind the sprinkler system." He didn't wait for affirmation and focused on the boy. "Ready Calvin?"

"Yes Sir!"

"Sam?" When his wife nodded they started to swing the boy and then gently tossed him in the pool. The kids all cheered when he sat up, laughing amid the jello and then quickly clambered out and followed the route Sage had already taken, chuckling when he ran through the water sprays from the sprinkler system.

They repeated the process with all the other children and then joined them near the slide. "Has anyone ever been on one of these?" Jack wasn't surprised when they all shook their head. Spotting William's curious face near the deck, he beckoned him over. "Maybe Mr. Vogel knows how to do it?"

William's eyes widened in shock and he quickly held up his hands. "Oh no, I have no idea."

"Did you bring your swimming trunks, Trip?"

"No," the man said slowly, his eyes narrowed.

Too bad, Jack thought. He would have enjoyed seeing him slide over the soapy plastic. It would be probably best for everyone if he forewent asking Mrs Vogel if she happened to be wearing her bathing suit underneath her fancy outfits... "Can you believe it, kids? I thought it was clear from the invitation you had to bring your swimsuit," he mock-whined.

"It was, General Jack!" Billy said bravely.

"Ah well, let's not dwell," he replied. "Are all the water balloons in place?" When William nodded slowly Jack glanced over his shoulder to double-check and saw the large black tub and the smaller bucket were standing right where he wanted them. "Excellent. Listen up, kids. General Sam has an excellent marksmanship and will be standing behind the sprinklers, armed with water and jello balloons. We'll go over here," he said, walking to the front end of the slide, "and take a little run before sliding as far as possible over the slide, okay? At the end you'll get up, brave General Sam as you run through the sprinkler field and jump into the jello pool for safety. Got it?"

"Yes Sir!"

"Excellent," he gleefully rubbed his hands together. "Who'll go first?"

"You Daddy!" Sage shouted and her friends were all nodding their agreement.

Crap. Betrayed by his own child! He heard Sam's soft chuckle before she turned and made her way over to her arsenal and let out a deep sigh. "Fine, I'll go first." It had been ages since Jack had last used one of these and it certainly hadn't been a homemade one. He could only hope his old, battered body would be able to take it and that he wouldn't make a fool of himself. As he took a few steps back for his run he found he suddenly had a squad of fifteen little cheerleaders and grinned.

Carter-O'Neill Residence
Colorado Springs, Colorado

William realized he was actually holding his breath as O'Neill took a little run and jumped onto the plastic sheet, sliding over his bare chest and nearly going all the way to the speed bump Sam had placed there. A loud whooping sounded from the children when he got up, soaked with water and soap and wearing a huge grin.

"These people are insane," Eleanor muttered at his side. "I cannot believe a man his age would do such a thing!"

As he was watching O'Neill dash over the yard with the sprinkler system spraying water over him while Sam threw a couple of water balloons at him - hitting him twice - before diving into the jello pool, William had to admit it actually looked tempting to join in the fun and just forget about his job, finances and everything else and just be a mischievous boy again. He was shocked to realize he was actually a bit envious of this little family, who clearly weren't as well off as his own but they more than made up for it by the way they treated and interacted with each other.

When he'd been in the kitchen, filling the water balloons he'd witnessed the tender embrace between the adult O'Neills through the window and he couldn't help but wonder what their secret to happiness was. Glancing at his wife he thought back to when they'd first met and how hard he'd worked to get her attention, wining and dining her until both their fathers had urged them to get married and he'd proposed... He was happy with everything he had accomplished in his life through hard work but at the same time he also realized he didn't have the kind of bond O'Neill had with his wife and daughter with his own family.

"Come on, son!" William got caught up in the children's enthusiasm when it was Billy's turn, glad to see the kid smiling at his encouragement.

"William please, don't encourage these people."

He rolled his eyes before looking at his wife. "They're just making sure the children are having fun. Look at Billy; he's never shown a hint of interest at sports nor is he an adventurous child, yet now he's gladly taking part in these activities." He paused and thought for a minute. "I'm willing to bet this whole day costs a fraction of the party you organized for Billy's birthday and he's having more fun now. Even the expensive gifts he received didn't make him smile like this."

"Look Mom, Dad!" Billy shouted as he hit the plastic and slid over it. He quickly got up and zigzagged through the sprinklers, getting hit with a water balloon that looked like it was filled with gelatin rather than actual water before he reached the pool and jumped in. His red hair was sticking to his forehead and blobs of jello were hanging from his expensive swimming shorts as he got out. "Awesome!"

William watched as the other children and O'Neill took turns on the circuit, all of them covered in a mixture of water, soap and jello and not caring one bit. Some of the gelatin had even found its way onto the sheet of plastic but no one seemed bothered by it. As a matter of fact, he thought it might even improve their sliding as it lessened the friction. There were also blobs of jello on the grass, from the small pool and the balloons Sam was wielding expertly.

"I'm all out of balloons!" Sam suddenly announced, getting up and holding up the two empty buckets for O'Neill to see.

"Then it's time for you to join in the fun," O'Neill replied, going towards her.

She shook her head. "No, Jack... no, I mean it. No," she cried, suddenly dashing away when he tried to grab her.

To William the only thing that made them stand out from the group of children was their height as O'Neill chased her down the yard, Sam laughing and the children cheering them on. He didn't think he'd ever seen two adults their age act so carefree and he wondered if maybe he should adjust his views of the military; he'd always thought combat affected soldiers in a certain way, making them more serious and solemn. Then again, hadn't O'Neill mentioned something earlier today about his wife being a scientist? Besides, they didn't allow women on the front lines, did they? She probably only had limited experience with combat - if any - and O'Neill himself had probably been a pilot, not fighting up close and personal...

"Throw Mommy in the jello, Daddy!" Sage O'Neill yelled, running over to where her father had lifted her struggling mother in his arms, covering her dress in jello.

"Jack O'Neill, you better not-"

"What, are you going to kick my butt?" O'Neill chuckled, carrying her over to the pool.

"You betcha!"

"C'mon Carter, be a good sport! Everyone has jumped in at least once already."

Sam was now clutching her husband, clearly trying to prevent him from being able to throw her in. William wondered if he should do something but he figured this was between the two of them and from what he'd seen of them today, he doubted they were being serious anyway. Eleanor on the other hand gasped and promptly retreated to the deck, lying down in a lounge chair as if it had all become too much for her. A fleeting thought about culture shocks went through his mind before he shook it off and focused on the O'Neills.

"Jack, let me go!"

"The only place you're going is into the jello! Man, I've been waiting for a chance like this for years," O'Neill smirked.

The other children were now surrounding them as well, all chanting "Jello, jello!" as they encouraged O'Neill to throw his wife into the pool.

"C'mon Daddy," Sage said, pushing him.

Billy suddenly appeared next to his friend and to William's shock the two proceeded to push O'Neill, until he tumbled into the pool with his wife still in his arms!

"Whoa!"

"Jack!"

A loud splash sounded as the two adults fell into the jello, the gelatin flying everywhere and the children were all laughing. Before he realized what he was doing William had already crossed the few feet to the pool and was standing next to the children, curiously looking at the two adults who were a tangled mess surrounded by green jello. A shaking mess...

He frowned, worried that maybe Sam had been serious and was now crying over her ruined outfit or maybe she'd hurt herself when falling into the pool. It looked like she'd taken the brunt of the fall with O'Neill landing on top of her. Now the two were struggling to get up, O'Neill's hand slipping away from underneath him before he managed to sit and pull up his wife.

"Are you okay, Sam?"

Her shoulders were still shaking but when O'Neill tipped her chin up with his jello-covered hand they could all see she was quietly laughing and trying not to inhale or ingest any of the gelatin. "I'm fine," she giggled. "I can't believe you did that!"

"Hey!" O'Neill replied when she punched him on the arm. "The munchkins pushed me in!"

William could tell from her facial expression she didn't believe her husband, until the children all started laughing. Ever the gentleman, he leaned over and held out his hand to help Sam up when she almost lost her footing in the slippery pool. It earned him a glare from O'Neill, who was holding onto the edge of the pool to get up. "Are you sure you're all right?"

"I'm fine," she said with a smile.

"She's not made of glass," O'Neill added. He climbed out of the pool and wrapped an arm around his wife's waist. "Now, how about trying out that slide, eh? Your dress is ruined anyway." Turning to look at him, he grinned. "Hey Trip, why don't you get the grill started while we supervise the kids. There's some salads and stuff in the fridge too, so you and your wife can place them on the table on the deck. That way we don't have to get cleaned up to eat inside."

"Sure," William muttered, stepping around the children and towards the deck. Eleanor was still sitting there, disapproval written all over her face and he suspected she might welcome preparing the food - despite hating the task and having maids at home - just so she wouldn't have to witness the activities in the yard. "Will you give me a hand, dear?"

She threw one disgusted look at the O'Neills and reluctantly got up. "Since when have we done a maid's work?"

"You were the one who volunteered to help them out, remember," he muttered as he followed her into the house and steered her towards the kitchen.

"To supervise!"

William shrugged as he set about washing his hands above the sink. "Unless you wish to be surrounded by children covered in gelatin who want you to slide over a sheet of plastic, I suggest we collect the appetizers, set the table and start the grill."

Eleanor rummaged through the fridge, handing him the food items to place them on the counter under the occasional muttering about the appliance's content. The laughter and chatter of the children could be heard through the open window and every now and then O'Neill spoke to the children. From the sounds of it they were trying to convince Sam to join them in their fun now that her blue dress was soaked and had a few blobs of jello clinging to it.

"Jack!"

Curious, William looked out the window at Sam's high-pitched voice just in time to see her dress pool at her feet, revealing the simple black bikini she was wearing underneath it. The woman was certainly fit, he thought to himself. O'Neill had quickly jumped away, clearly trying to look innocent but his wife wasn't having any of it.

"Sometimes you're more like a six-year-old boy, instead of a man of almost sixty," Sam muttered as she leaned down to pick up her dress. It looked like someone - presumably O'Neill - had untied it at the neck allowing the dress, probably weighed down by the water and jello it had absorbed, to fall to the floor.

"Oh c'mon, Sam, loosen up a bit," her husband cajoled. "I knew you were wearing a bikini underneath and just wanted to give you a little push so you'd relax and forget about work for a while. Join in the fun! Let's show her how it's done, kids!"

O'Neill was almost sixty? Despite the man's silver hair William hadn't expected the man to have almost a decade on him! His physique certainly wasn't that of a sixty-year-old man. Hell, he looked more toned than William himself! Glancing over his shoulder he realized Eleanor hadn't seen what had happened yet and he quickly intercepted the ingredients for a simple salad. "I'll make the salad. Why don't you get that large tray," he gestured at the one he'd seen the Sam and her neighbor use earlier today, "and place enough jello desserts and drinks on it for the children, dear."

That way she wouldn't be confronted with what she'd probably label as another immoral act. He, on the other hand, had an excellent view of the O'Neills and the children, who were now all moving towards the slide. Sage was pulling her mother with her, clearly eager for her to join in the fun. William had no doubt Sam would participate after witnessing her husband's antics earlier today and the way she'd been involved with the activities herself.

He chuckled softly when he saw O'Neill take his daughter's hand before the two of them took a little run and jumped onto the slide, the little girl roaring with laughter as they slid over the plastic together. Perhaps Eleanor was right and these people were insane, but they certainly didn't let it hold them back. To his surprise Billy approached Sam with a wide grin and reached for her hand, after which the two followed in O'Neill and Sage's footsteps.

Today was the first time he'd seen his son so uninhibited and while that had been surprising, witnessing him approach an adult in such a carefree manner was even more shocking. The boy had always been a bit shy, especially around adults and it usually took a lot of placating - or maybe it was more like bribery, he wasn't sure - from Eleanor to even have him shake people's hands when they were having guests over.

Jack peeked over the edge of the pool when he heard new voices and was pleased to see the Jenkins had arrived as well. "Hey guys!" He yelled as he got out of the pool, shaking his head to dislodge some of the jello much to Sage's amusement and helped his daughter out as well.

"God Jack, what have you been up to?" Robert Jenkins laughed as he noted the jello and scanned the rest of the yard. "Where are my girls?"

"I can't believe Sam is letting you do this," Linda added.

Running a hand through his sticky hair he smirked. "Letting me do this? Hell, she's the one who's been throwing water balloons and using the slip 'n slide all day!"

"Are my daughters with Sam?"

"I'll go get Emma and Loren," Sage piped up, dashing off.

Jack gestured towards the slide. "Yeah, they're two of the dozen or so green jello blobs over there."

"Is it just the two of you with the kids?" Robert asked.

"Teresa helped out earlier in the afternoon before going home to walk the dog. She said she'd be back in a bit but I haven't seen her yet," he replied.

Linda laughed as they moved further into the yard and saw the state of everyone. "I'm impressed the two of you managed to keep an eye on what, fifteen kids, while participating in the fun as well."

"The Vogels are around here somewhere as well. I think they're in the kitchen, collecting the salads and drinks so we can get the grill started. They're Billy's parents..." Jack scanned the group of kids until he'd located the boy. "The red-headed boy with Sage and the twins."

The words had barely left his mouth when the foursome came running over, all excited and covered in jello. The twins immediately went over to their parents while Sage and Billy hung back a bit, standing next to him.

"Mommy, Daddy, the party is awesome! General Jack made a soap slide!" Emma exclaimed.

Loren nodded excitedly. "And he and General Sam threw us in the jello pool!"

"Yeah, we can see that," Robert chuckled. "Looks like you two had a lot of fun!"

Linda turned to Sage as her daughters continued to chat to their dad. "What about you, honey? Are you enjoying your birthday party?"

"Yeah, it's awesome! This is Billy, he's my bestest friend from school. Wanna meet the others too, Mrs Jenkins?"

"Best friend, munchkin," Jack corrected her, but she and Billy were already dragging Linda away. "So Rob, gonna join in the fun?"

"Yeah Daddy, come on."

"Please? I'll show you how to use the slide, Daddy."

Robert shook his head, laughing softly. "How can I say no that, eh?"

Jack smirked, gleefully rubbing his hands together. "Excellent. I'm sure the Vogels can start the grill without us." He and the twins waited patiently while Robert took off his shoes and socks, followed by his shirt. "You might want to get rid of the belt too, don't want you to tear the plastic or hurt yourself with it."

"Right," he replied. "It's not like I need it anyway. I'm keeping my jeans on, though!"

"That's okay, Daddy," Emma said, grabbing his arm and pulling him towards the slide.

Loren took Jack's hand and together the four of them walked over to the slide. "You have to do the slide, then run through the sprinkler field and jump into the pool, Dad. We'll go first, right General Jack?"

"Yeah sure you betcha!"

When Sam spotted Teresa and Ricardo Martinez entering the backyard, each carrying a portable picnic table, she quickly went over to the deck where the Vogels had already been placing trays of food, drinks and dessert on the table and snatched one of the large beach towels she'd placed there. Those had been meant for the children since she hadn't expected her husband to throw her in a pool filled with jello, but there were plenty left. Besides, Jack had mentioned a towel and swimwear on the invitation so the children should each have one of their own with them.

Most of her torso was relatively clean from using the soap slide so she quickly used the towel on her face, hair and arms before wrapped it around her as she walked over to the Martinezes. "Hi!"

"Hola, Sam!"

"I didn't think you'd be able to make it, Ricardo!"

"Well, when Teresa told me what you and Jack were up to... I just had to see for myself!" He laughed, taking in her appearance before looking around at the others. "It's even worse than I thought!"

"Jack thought these might come in handy and asked if he could borrow them for today," Teresa said, gesturing at the two folded picnic tables. "I don't know if you remember but we used them for Rick's party a few months ago and they always come out when my sisters and their families visit too."

Sam nodded and took the thing from her. "I do, Jack even bought one when it was on sale last month. To use at the cabin in the summer but we haven't been up there yet so it should still be in the garage. I'd already forgotten all about it!"

"Estupendo! Then we have twelve seats already. How many children are here?"

"Sixteen kids, Billy's parents, the Jenkins, you, Teresa, Jack and me," Sam replied. "The table on the deck is large enough for six people normally but with all the extra trays it might be a bit cramped... Oh, we still have the picnic table near the garage," she added. It had been an old wooden picnic table that they hadn't use much since moving here. She had suggested getting rid of the thing since it didn't look too stable but Jack had put in some new bolts, sand papered and lacquered it in the spring. He was still supposed to paint it but it seemed he'd forgotten about it - and so had she up until now - but it would do for today.

"I will see if Mr. and Mrs Vogel need any help," Teresa said, before walking up to the house.

"Where do you want these, Sam?"

She scanned the yard and came to the conclusion it would be best to put their two portable picnic tables to the right of the deck and the one Jack had bought and fixed up could both be set up in the sprinkler area since there was still some sun left there, meaning the children wouldn't get cold once they sat down in their wet swimsuits. "If you could set these up here, Ricardo," she pointed at the area, "then I'll turn off the sprinklers and see if Jack and Rob are done playing with the kids and can give me a hand with the other two tables."

Robert and his wife, Linda, were two years younger than Sam and lived down the street. Their girls had quickly befriended Sage, while Rob and Jack got along great too despite the nearly twenty-year age gap between them and usually went to the gym together about twice a week when the kids were in school. Linda had a great sense of humor, a keen intellect and like Sam she was a working mother, which unfortunately also meant the two of them hardly had time to do things together unlike their husbands. It was a shame really, because Sam thought they could be good friends from the few times they actually interacted with each other, usually during a barbecue, play dates or birthday parties like today.

Setting the portable picnic table in the grass Sam left it in the capable hands of Ricardo while she went looking for the Jenkins and her husband. It didn't take her long to spot them, despite their crouched positions behind various objects in the yard. It seemed they and the children had discovered the leftover balloons and buckets filled with water that Jack had set up this morning, the ones she had totally forgotten about after running through the two buckets William had brought out.

Linda had the best cover and only had a few wet spots on her ankle-length skirt from the grass, sprinklers or maybe a successful hit with a water balloon. It looked like she was teamed up with Jack and Rob, who were both partly covered in jello and soap remnants and only wearing their pants. The kids were on the other side, all wielding water balloons and Sage and Edward - if Sam recalled correctly - had grabbed the two hoses from the soap slide as their weapons. The latter two seemed more successful in hitting the adults than the rest, whose water balloons were littered on the grass from bad aim.

Sam spotted William on the deck near the grill where he appeared to be watching the water balloon fight with a small smile and went over to him. "William? Would you mind turning off the sprinkler system so we can set up the tables? It's already past dinner time and while it's great to see the kids having so much fun, I don't want to send them home hungry because we forgot about the time."

"Of course. I'll turn off the system and then we can call the children to ask them what they want for dinner," he said. "Do you also want me to turn off the water for the hose?"

"Please do, thank you William," she smiled. When he left she threw her wet towel over the deck rail to dry next to her dress and went over to where the other hose was connected to the outdoors faucet and turned it off. Sam waited until the sprinkler system was turned off before running over the grass towards the garage, dodging two water balloons on her way. "Jack? Robert, Linda?" After a few seconds Jack looked her way and she beckoned him over to explain why she needed their help.

Jack wiped his brow after they had finally moved the heavy picnic table he'd fixed up a couple of months ago and looked at where the children were still throwing water balloons at each other. "I think today was quite the success," he said smugly.

"I agree, all the kids seem to enjoy it," Linda said.

"Even some of the spoiled brats from Sage's fancy school."

"Jealous, Rob?" He questioned, although he knew that wasn't the case. The Jenkins simply didn't like snobbish elitist people and a lot of these kids really were spoiled brats. But his daughter liked them and once you got to know them most weren't that bad. Not yet, anyway.

Robert laughed and shook his head. "No man, I feel sorry for poor little Sage!"

"I don't think you have to worry about her," Sam remarked, her eyes also on the children. "Looks like she's already in charge."

"Didn't you hear? It's because she's got the coolest dad ever!" Jack quipped, wrapping an arm around her. "I've been told he organizes the most awesome birthday parties."

Linda nodded, clearly in agreement. "All of your daughter's friends seemed to think so when she introduced me to them. Now there's only one problem..."

He frowned, looking between her and the rambunctious kids. They were all laughing, shouting triumphantly and chattering as the water balloons flew through the air. "I don't see a problem."

"Really?" Robert teased after exchanging glances with her. "I can see it."

"What?"

"The problem is, Jack," Linda explained, "how are you planning on trumping this party next year?"

Sam snorted at that and playfully poked him. "Yeah, you might just lose your Coolest Dad of the Year title if it doesn't live up to expectations."

"Funny Carter," Jack muttered. "I'll have you know-"

Suddenly a loud yelp tore through the air, followed by a heavy silence. All four of them looked back at the children but none of them seemed injured, in pain or otherwise upset.

"Uh-oh," Sage broke the silence. Jack realized what had happened as he followed her gaze.

"William Bartholomew Vogel IV! What in the Lord's name do you think you are doing?" Eleanor Vogel's shrill voice sounded. She was standing in the middle of the 'battlefield' with the kids in front of her... and a large blob of green jello on her otherwise pristine jacket.

Jack exchanged looks with Sam, both of them unsure whether they should interfere as the woman spoke to her son. Billy seemed to cower behind a few of the other children and his face was almost the same color as his hair. "Sam...?"

"I don't know," she replied in the same tone. He wasn't sure why they were whispering but it seemed appropriate in the sudden silence. Even the birds were quiet.

"I'm sorry!" Billy suddenly sobbed. "I just wanted to play!"

Jack winced in sympathy at the cries while the boy's mother seemed to be quietly fuming. He wasn't sure whether the kid had meant to throw the jello-filled water balloon at his mother or if she just happened to be in the way - his aim was kind of terrible, after all. He suspected it was the former though, which sort of made sense considering he, Sam and the Jenkins had all participated with the activities and Billy probably wanted his parents to join too...

"Maybe someone should step in," Robert suggested. "That lady looks her head might literally explode."

"I don't think that's humanly possible... Is it, Sam?" Linda asked.

Sam just shrugged, obviously not sure about anything when it came to creatures like Eleanor Vogel. "Billy looks really upset. You should check on him Jack, he likes you."

He was about to follow her 'order' when Billy ran off, crying, towards the house. To Jack's surprise Mrs Vogel appeared more concerned about her jacket and what she probably thought of as her public humiliation than her own child. William Vogel went over to her and harsh but whispered words were exchanged by both parties before the man seemed to go inside to check up on his son and she retreated to the deck.

"Well, this seems like a good time to break up the activities," Jack muttered. "Might as well get the kids settled down with something to drink after all their playing while we throw some food on the grill. That way William and Billy can have a moment alone."

"I guess so," Sam said, nodding slowly. "We should probably postpone opening the presents until everything is settled again, after dinner and before the parents come to pick up the kids."

Sam watched as Rob and Linda rounded up the children - minus Billy - and got them to pick out some of the drinks and desserts that had been set out on the table on the deck by the Vogels while Ricardo and Teresa were manning the grill. Mrs Vogel was sitting on the lounger on the deck minus her jacket, which had been slung over the back of another chair.

"I should probably go over there and offer to pay for the drycleaner," Sam said with an audible sigh.

"Why? The woman walked into the middle of the water balloon fight all on her own."

She gave her husband a look. "Jack..."

"I told her on the phone she'd be better off not wearing anything fancy," he protested, in a bit of a whiny voice.

"And now her expensive jacket is ruined."

"It wasn't even our kid that threw the damn balloon!"

Sam sighed again and gestured at the table where Sage was sitting. "Our daughter is, however, friends with Billy. We might not have any problems with her friends or their parents but I wouldn't be surprised if this would be yet another reason for Eleanor to keep her son away from Sage."

Jack grimaced as he looked from the girl to the woman on the deck. "You want us to play nice for the sake of the kids?"

"Yes, as a matter of fact I seem to recall you telling me something along those lines a while back for when it came to dealing with the school and the other parents."

"Yeah, but she just..."

Sam could tell he really didn't like Eleanor Vogel from the way he was searching for words - and not finding them. She wasn't too fond of the woman herself but Billy was a great friend to Sage and even his father, William, wasn't that bad despite first impressions. Reaching out she linked her fingers with Jack's and gave his hand a little squeeze. "C'mon, what happened to the General O'Neill who could even play nice with boring senators and the bigwigs in DC?"

"He retired!" Jack cried. "Precisely because he was tired of having to play nice with a bunch of idiots."

"Do it for Sage."

"Ooh, that's low, Carter."

She smiled at him, knowing he wouldn't be able to resist. "Whatever works."

"Fine... maybe I should make the offer then," Jack said with a deep sigh. "She probably thinks I'm the bad guy anyway after today, considering she didn't think too highly of me to begin with." He winced and looked at her apologetically. "Threatening to throw you in the pool probably didn't do me any favors either, especially with your dress... Oy, I'll get you a new one if the jello doesn't come out, promise."

"It'll be fine."

He disentangled his fingers from her grip and wrapped his arm around her. "It was stupid; I was just fooling around and never intended to actually throw you in. Not with your pretty dress on, anyway."

"I know," Sam smiled as she leaned into him. He smelled like jello and baby soap and his chest was a bit sticky against her cheek but she didn't mind. "I was just playing along."

"Didn't think the kids would give me a push..."

"Underestimating the enemy, not expecting their movements and getting overpowered by two children," she summed up. "Maybe you're get-"

Jack let out a deep sigh and hung his head. "I'm getting old."

Sam snorted, rolling her eyes. "I was going to say you're getting out of practice."

"Oh." He grinned sheepishly and squeezed her waist before gesturing at Sage, who was coming their way. "Let's see what the munchkin wants."

With a few skips she reached them, her sandy blond hair slicked down with green jello and a fluffy pink towel wrapped around her body. "Where's Billy? Is his mom and dad going to punish him?"

"It's up to his parents if they are going to punish him," Sam corrected her.

"His mom is a meanie," Sage continued. "She got mad 'cos of the balloon but she knew we were playing and-"

Jack squatted to be on the same level as their daughter and interrupted her. "What have mommy and I taught you about calling people names?"

"I'm not allowed to," she said dejectedly. "But she is mean and boring and you don't like her too!"

"Either. I don't like her either," he corrected.

"Not liking someone doesn't mean you can call them names or be rude to them, Sage," Sam admonished.

Putting an arm around her small shoulders Jack pulled their daughter against his side. "It doesn't matter if she's boring or not; Billy knew his mom didn't want to play and he still threw a balloon at her, knowing she wouldn't be happy about it."

"But you did so too with Mommy!"

Sam noticed him wince as he realized the bad example he'd set for the kids and decided to come to his rescue. "That's different, sweetie. Daddy and I were both playing and teasing each other and he never intended to actually throw me in the jello."

"When you're grown up and married you're both equals, like your mom and me. But until then you have to listen to your parents, no matter how boring they are; Billy knew his mom didn't want to play but he still did it anyway. That's not very nice," Jack added. "But you're right in that I shouldn't have teased Mommy when she said 'no' and I've already apologized to her over it and for her dress being ruined by the jello."

"I'm sorry too, we shouldn't push you," Sage apologized after receiving a pointed look from her dad.

"Like I told your dad; I forgive you."

Jack nodded and straightened up, wincing at his popping knees. "Me too, munchkin. Just no more pushing me in the future, we could have hurt ourselves. I'm an old man, you know."

"You're not old, Daddy!"

"See, that's why I love you," he teased her, tapping her on the nose. "Now, if you ladies will excuse me I shall apologize to Mrs Vogel for the chain of events as well and offer to pay for the drycleaner. Then I'll go see how Billy and Mr Vogel are doing inside the house."

Sam watched him saunter off and grabbed Sage's hand. "Let's get ourselves some jello. It's your birthday party after all so we can start with dessert!"

"Yay!"

William nearly collided with O'Neill when he was about to step through the sliding doors onto the deck. He stepped aside and let the host pass with a small smile and turned to follow Billy, who'd just gone back outside five minutes ago, when the other man gave him a questioning look.

"Billy just ran past me on my way in; is everything okay?"

"Yes, I had a talk with my son and he's all right now. I told him to join the other children... oh and there's some gelatin on the sofa now. I tried-"

O'Neill shrugged and made a dismissive gesture with his hand. "That's okay. I'll clean it up. Just wanted to see if Billy was okay, the other kids were missing him. I already talked to your wife and told her the jello should come out of her jacket and I offered to pay for the drycleaner or, if it doesn't come out, a new jacket."

"I don't think that will be necessary," he said. He was impressed by their generous offer, having witnessed what happened and knowing O'Neill, his family or any of the other children weren't involved with the incident; it had just been Billy and Eleanor. The latter who had overreacted at their son's wish for her to join in the fun, although Billy really should have known better by now. "It was an unfortunate misunderstanding and Eleanor has plenty of other jackets to wear."

"Yeah, she mentioned something about being more than capable of paying for it herself."

William made a mental note to continue the short conversation he'd had with Eleanor about manners and making a scene once they were in the privacy of their own home. She might think the O'Neills were beneath them but that was no reason to forego her own manners and accept or graciously reject a generous offer, which the O'Neills weren't even obliged to make. There was also a good chance on future interaction with this family considering Billy had befriended young Sage and they were going to the same school as well. Personally William thought he might actually prefer the rather unconventional yet entertaining and interesting O'Neill family to some of the others in their social circles. "In any case I appreciate the offer."

"Yeah sure you betcha," O'Neill said, before moving further into the living room. "Want a drink? Beer, wine or maybe something stronger?"

"I probably shouldn't; I still have to drive tonight."

"Oh, I thought Billy mentioned something about a driver. My mistake." The man went into the kitchen and rummaged about in the refrigerator.

William debated whether to have a drink; if he was at the club he wouldn't even think about it but for some reason he felt different now. Perhaps because it was a children's event. Maybe because he was still thinking of driving by the club afterwards. He was sure the others would enjoy his story about today's party over a drink or two. It had been quite a while since he'd had a beer of some kind but it would probably go well with the summer heat and wouldn't affect him as much as something stronger, like his usual at the club. "Oh very well, one beer won't hurt."

"Excellent," O'Neill's muffled voice sounded.

"You weren't entirely mistaken; Billy and Eleanor were brought here by the driver but I used my own car to visit the club tonight," he shared.

The man came towards him, several beers in hand and a frown on his face. "The club?" He handed him a bottle and seemed to realize something. "Oh, you play golf or something?"

"Yes, a lot of business with clients and partners is done during a friendly game of golf. Do you play?"

To his surprise O'Neill nodded with a small smile as they went back outside. "Yeah, a bit. Haven't played in a while though. Not since we moved here, I think."

"Are you any good?"

"I have my moments."

William frowned, wondering what he meant by that as they stood on the deck. From here they could overlook most of the yard, with the one wooden and three plastic picnic tables in the center. All the children, including Billy, seemed to be enjoying jello desserts, despite not having had a single scrap of dinner yet. Even O'Neill's wife, Sam, was eagerly tucking into one of the blue variants. "Perhaps you can join me and some of the others from the school for a game one day." He wasn't quite sure why he had suggested it but one of the few things that had become clear to him during his short talk with his son was how much the boy seemed to care about the O'Neills and William had found himself intrigued as well.

Jack smirked as he set the beers down on the table reserved for the adults. Everyone but Eleanor got one and he kept one for himself and took another for Sam, who was sitting at the children's table with Sage in her lap with both of them tucking into their jello. Turning back to William he shrugged. "Who knows, maybe one day I can. If you'll excuse me, I promised Sam I'd get her a beer." With that he descended the steps and walked over to his family.

"Whoa, you're not supposed to eat this one," he said, grabbing a cup of red jello from Jeremiah. "Your mom told me you were allergic to strawberry. This one is strawberry flavored and has strawberries in it. Go get yourself another one from the fridge; one that isn't red!" He called after the boy, who immediately dashed off into the kitchen. "I'll just finish this one," Jack muttered under his breath, eyeing the barely touched jello.

"Are you stooping to stealing from children?" Sam asked with a twinkle in her eye as he reached her.

He rolled his eyes mockingly and handed her the jello after pressing a kiss to her temple. "There you go. The kid's allergic to strawberries and from all the flavors he picks the only dessert with actual strawberries in it, for crying out loud!"

"Daddy, I want a kiss too! It's my birthday," Sage needlessly reminded him.

"Okay," he bent down and gave her a peck on her cheek. "It would have been a whole other story if you'd asked to have a beer too, though."

She giggled and leaned back against her mom. "Beer is yucky!"

"That's right; beer, cigarettes and other alcohol are all yucky. Don't worry, munchkin, I'll never let you have any of them," Jack said. "No dating or kissing boys either."

Sam snorted and put her now empty jello cup aside. "Not in the foreseeable future anyway. I do want grandkids eventually, though."

"Aw, c'mon," he cajoled her. "Cassie can give us grandkids; I was too late to prevent her from dating boys. Let's keep this one innocent, eh?"

"With both of them chances of us becoming grandparents are much higher."

Jack grimaced, looking between his wife and daughter. "She's turning seven this week, I don't want to think about her dating or grandkids just yet, okay?"

"You started it," Sam reminded him sweetly.

"All right, then I'm changing the subject here. Who wants food, kids?" He turned away from his giggling wife and daughter and started taking orders, which were rather easy to remember when one offered hot dogs and burgers to a bunch of kids. "I'll go see what our chef has made so far," Jack said before dashing back up to the deck to check on Ricardo's progress.

"First few burgers and hot dogs are almost ready, Jack."

"Excellent," he nodded, slapping the man on his back. "I think it would be best to feed the kids first and then, once they're too full to move we can enjoy our own meals. Unless someone is famished?" The adults all shook their heads, some of them were eating jello or salad while others were just nursing their drinks.

William beckoned him over to the other side of the deck with his beer and resumed their conversation from earlier when he joined him. "Why haven't you joined the club yet? I imagine you have plenty of spare time now that you're retired and you said you liked golf..."

"Oh you'd be surprised with how busy things can get," Jack replied. "I manage to entertain myself with working out, tinkering around in the garage or a couple of other hobbies when Sage is at school and I've completed all the household chores."

"Hard to imagine a formidable man like yourself to take care of the household on his own. What about your wife?"

He shrugged and set down his beer on the railing to scoop up some jello. "Sam works fulltime and after years of working my ass off the role of stay-at-home dad suits me just fine."

"She's a scientist?"

"Theoretical astrophysicist but she's also quite adept at engineering, computer programming and other science-y things. Oh and she's really good at blowing stuff up too or shooting bad guys," Jack said with a proud smirk. "These days though she's usually too busy running the base to play with her doohickeys."

William frowned, seemingly confused as his eyes darted back to the woman in question, who was chatting and laughing with the children. "She's military as well?"

"She's a brigadier general in the Air Force and base commander at Cheyenne Mountain."

"Quite impressive. What do they do up there?"

Jack shrugged again as he munched on a strawberry. "Deep space radar telemetry..." He trailed off at the incomprehension on the man's face and grinned. "Let's just say she's got her hands full with a bunch of classified stuff."

"There aren't a lot of children of soldiers at our school and if I'm not mistaken Sage only joined us this year. She wasn't at our kindergarten, was she?"

"No, we moved here at the end of last summer when Sam was reassigned. Sage had just finished up kindergarten at a different private school so it was a bit tricky but risk assessments had been made already and it was determined public school wasn't secure enough with both the positions and ranks of my wife and I."

William's eyebrows shot up and he looked intrigued. "Does that happen a lot, moving because of reassignments? Where were you living prior to settling in Colorado Springs?"

"Actually, we were pretty fortunate to have been stationed right here for the better part of a decade before I was promoted and reassigned to Washington DC. Sam joined me there later on a different project at the Pentagon and now we're back here," Jack said. Most of the information he was sharing would be accessible online anyway. Just not the part about Homeworld Command, Atlantis or battle cruisers.

"I see. You were working at the Pentagon as well before you retired?"

He nodded with a grimace, reminded of all the paperwork, politicians and being separated from Sam for long periods. "Yeah, flying a desk isn't really my style and I can't stand ass-kissing politicians so I finally retired, but at least I got enough practice in at the golf courses."

"Ah yes, it seems doing business over a game of golf is universal."

"Not really," Jack muttered under his breath. He'd seen a lot of several galaxies over the years but he'd never seen any of the aliens playing golf and he had a hard time imagining the Goa'uld System Lords having their summits on a golf course, let alone the human-form Replicators or the tiny Asgard. Heck, he'd been the one to introduce Teal'c to the game and that Jaffa had seen a lot of different cultures in his hundred and fifty plus years. He had some fond memories of those particular time loops, as a matter of fact. A record of several billion miles when playing golf through an open wormhole to Alaris, for one. "I actually broke the world record for longest drive once."

William appeared surprised, no doubt because he would know all the important records when it came to golf, which seemed to be his favorite pastime. "Oh?"

"I'd tell you about it but then I'd have to shoot you. The circumstances were classified unfortunately."

The sun was hanging much lower in the sky by the time everyone had had something to eat but it was still warm outside. Some of the kids had followed Sage's example and had draped a towel around their small frames while others were still sitting in their wet and sticky swimsuits. Sam had put her dress back on because she felt a bit exposed and had been getting cold now that most of the backyard was in the shade. The dress itself was completely dry after a few hours in the sun but there were still some dark smudges on it she was hoping would be removed in the laundry. Ah well, Jack had already promised to get her a new one if it wouldn't come out and the most important thing was that Sage and her friends had enjoyed the party. Her dress could easily be replaced.

It was getting late though. Or at least, later than they'd planned considering Sage still had to open the presents. Right now the children - and Jack - were eating cake, after all the jello snacks they'd had this afternoon, the jello desserts, hot dogs, burgers and other grilled meat and vegetables they'd eaten for dinner. Truth was they had almost forgotten the cake until Jack got them some more beer during his break from the grill and had insisted no child of his would have a birthday party without cake. To Sam's surprise most of the kids - and Jack - had actually welcomed the chocolate cake with white frosting and rainbow sprinkles! She had no idea how they managed to eat so much with their tiny bodies but apparently the day's activities had really worn them out, meaning they needed to refuel now.

Reaching for her beer Sam smiled at Jack, who caught her eye, and gestured at her watch. He seemed to understand her hint as he peered at the house, then the kids and last but not least the garage where Sage's presents were waiting for her. Suddenly he started eating his cake even faster making Sam chuckle, although she also felt guilty for making him feel like he had to hurry up. The kids were still eating too after all and a look around their table showed that Ricardo and Robert were still enjoying their steak too.

William Vogel was even standing at the grill, preparing a hot dog for Billy, who'd been a bit late to the table after running off and had been too upset to eat much. The boy had come around though about half an hour ago, talking quietly to his parents and appearing to apologize to Eleanor before offering her his hot dog. The woman had been confused at the concept much to everyone's amusement until William had explained it wasn't actually meat of a dog. She had still refused to eat it though, preferring her tofu burger and salad, and Billy had looked crestfallen until his father had asked if he could have it, saying something about how it reminded him of his college days. While it had been a great and somewhat unexpected gesture of William it also meant Billy had hardly eaten a thing and now that everyone was almost finished he was getting hungry.

"Do you think they'll be able to get up and move to the living room or should we start bringing the presents outside?" Sam jokingly asked her husband after seeing a bunch of the kids sag in their seats, with a few even lying down on the grass after stuffing themselves with food, jello and cake.

"Nah, they'll be good to go in a few minutes," Jack said confidently. "At least I think Sage will be fine... she's been talking about her presents for over a week now so if need be I'm sure she'll do all the running around to show the gifts she's received off to her friends and us."

She was about to reply when voices sounded on the side of the house and the kids started talking in response, with the black-haired girl slipping off her seat and running off to the fence. Before Sam could get up Jack gestured for her to remain seated while he went down the steps to take a look. He'd only walked a few feet from the deck when she could see the tension leave his frame and he smiled at the visitors. She could overhear him telling the newcomers to come in and join them, piquing her curiosity.

"Are you expecting anyone else, Sam?" Linda asked as she craned her neck to try to see who it was, but obviously failing.

"Not that I'm aware of," she replied, getting up. "Then again, Jack was the one who organized all this. If you'll excuse me I will be right back." With that she dashed off the deck, silently commending herself for donning her dress instead of greeting whoever it was in her bikini as she made her way over to where her husband was talking to two other men. They were both well dressed and wouldn't look out of place at a soiree hosted by the Vogels but their three-piece suits were a bit much for a children's party.

Jack was already making conversation with the two men and seemingly unaware of how out of place he suddenly looked dressed in just his zipped-off khakis. "Oh and this is my wife, Samantha Carter-O'Neill," he introduced her as she came up to his side, clearly having picked up on her own introduction to the Vogels earlier today. "Sam, this is Charlotte's dad and great grandfather."

"I'm Roy Lancaster," the younger one said, his hair just as dark as his daughter's. He looked to be in his early thirties, which surprised Sam considering Charlotte's age. "And this is my grandfather, Ro-"

"I can certainly introduce myself," the white-haired man interrupted. "Royston Charles."

"It's a pleasure to meet both of you," she replied, shaking their hands. The older man looked distinguished and rather fit for someone who had to be at least eighty, she mused. His name sounded familiar as well but she couldn't place it. "Charlotte is a great kid, too."

Royston looked from the child to them, his dark eyes twinkling as he took in their appearances. "Are you certain about that, young lady? You all look quite a mess and I wouldn't put it past my great granddaughter to be responsible for it!"

"It's okay, Grampa, we were just playing," Charlotte said before she could say anything. "Come look at what we did! It was the coolest, General Sam and General Jack played with us in the jello and on the slide!"

"That certainly sounds like fun, doesn't it Gramps?"

Royston huffed at his grandson and shooed him and Charlotte away. "Show your father, sweetheart. I'll be with you in a bit." Then he turned back to Jack and Sam. "Samantha, I was just telling your husband how much I respect the men - and women - protecting our country. If what my great granddaughter said is true then that extends to you as well."

"Oh, er, thank you, Mr Charles," she said. It was certainly quite a different attitude from what they had seen and heard from the other people involved with the school.

"My son RJ and his best friend Maxwell, Roy's father, were both killed serving their country..."

Jack cleared his throat and exchanged a glance with her. "I'm sorry to hear that."

"It's quite all right, it happened thirty years ago," he gestured with his cane at his grandson. "Maxwell never got to meet his boy and my daughter was suddenly a widow with child."

"A parent should never outlive their child," Jack said softly.

Royston nodded and took a few steps forward. "Indeed, it is unnatural. You hang onto this one, young lady; he sounds like a good man," he added, patting Sam on her arm.

"Yes Sir," she chuckled.

"Now, where is the birthday girl and what have you been doing to end up covered in slime, hm?"

Jack frowned but waited for the old man to fall in step with them. "It's not slime, it's jello."

"The parfait?"

"And soap and water," Sam added at his confusion.

To her surprise Royston started laughing, shaking his head in mirth when they stepped around to the deck and he saw the children, the pool and the slide. "Well, well, well... And here I was thinking the younger generations only cared about video games!"

"Hey Gramps, look who are here as well?" Roy called out from where he was standing on the deck next to the grill.

"William Vogel is that you?"

William grimaced and stepped away from the grill, trying to smooth his shirt and roll his sleeves down as inconspicuously as possible. "Royston. I had no idea you were going to be here."

"Charlotte and Roy had told me so many stories about this lovely couple I had to come see for myself," he replied with a smile. "I'm glad to see you're participating in today's festivities, son. To be honest I didn't think you'd have it in you to enjoy yourself the old-fashioned way."

"Mr Charles, would you like to sit and maybe have something to eat or drink?" Sam offered, trying to fill up the awkward silence that had just descended upon the man's words.

He looked at her and patted her arm again. "First I must congratulate your daughter with her birthday and please Samantha, call me Royston."

"Why don't you take a seat, Royston, while I hose the kids off," Jack offered with a grin. "They're all covered in soap and jello and they have to get cleaned up before we go inside for the presents anyway."

"Very well."

Sam watched as he walked up the steps and lowered himself in a free chair in front of his grandson. "Roy, take a seat." Then he looked around and spotted Eleanor and her jacket, which was still hanging over the back of her chair. "Eleanor! Well, I'll be damned! I would have never thought you would have the guts to let loose for once and God forbid, have some fun."

"Eh, of course, Royston," the woman stammered, clearly uncomfortable.

"Excellent," he nodded. "I must say I'm disappointed to see you are the only parents from the school here to have joined in with the O'Neills," Royston said as he looked around the table before making his introduction to the Jenkins and Martinezes.

Jack could tell Sam's brain was working overtime as she used the garden hose on him to rid him of the jello and soap. He had hosed off all the kids while she'd bundled them up in clean, fluffy towels and sent them into the house where the others were waiting. Now it was his turn to get cleaned up. "What'cha doing?"

"Hm?"

"You were miles away," he chuckled as she put the hose down and handed him a towel. "Something wrong?"

She shrugged, her gaze drifting to the deck where the two Roys were eating the last hotdogs and drinking Teresa's homemade iced tea. "The name is familiar but I can't place it."

"Whose name?"

"Royston Charles."

"Ah," he nodded smugly. When she just glared at him he rolled his eyes in mock exasperation and relented. "The school-"

He wasn't even finished and he could see she had found the answer by the way her face lit up. "Of course! He's one of their major contributors, right? Some kind of business magnate?"

"Yeah, he's the Royston Charles who owns several businesses and real estate," Jack said. "Why else do you think Eleanor looked so shocked at seeing him?"

"I thought maybe she still wasn't over the concept of a hotdog."

"Cute," he said as she grinned and threw her arm around his waist. "Rumor has it Royston was from a well-off family but nothing too spectacular; they were merely tolerated in high society and didn't really enjoy any of the privileges. Until he fell in love with a girl from the family at the top of pyramid but of course they didn't think he was good enough. He set out to prove them wrong and within a year his family's fortune had doubled and it turned out young Royston had an eye for business. His father was a doctor... or a lawyer, I don't remember. Anyway, he had a practice and quickly got more clients as their reputation grew along with their fortune. Or patients. Whatever." Jack grimaced as he told the story. "It's all very cliché and you know how I feel about those."

Sam smiled at him and slowly dragged him towards the deck. "They were allowed to get married and lived happily ever after?"

"Not really. They were allowed to get married but he refused her family's fortune, insisting on making his own. Obviously he succeeded but they say he and his family were cursed."

"Oh come on, Jack!"

He smirked and pulled her closer. "Honestly! Well, if those nannies are to be believed anyway. But back to my story; they had twins but his wife died when the kids were ten-ish. Then his daughter got married at seventeen to her brother's best friend. She found out she was pregnant when both boys had already died. Roy was born a few months later, he eventually got married but his wife died in childbirth and he was left with baby Charlotte. He named her after his grandfather since the family name hadn't been passed on and now, here we are, about seven years later."

"You got all that from a bunch of nannies?"

"Yes... and remember General Ryan?" Jack knew she did, it was hard to forget the former Chief of Staff of the Air Force. Not to mention that after getting command of HWC - or Homeworld Security as it had been called at the time - and moving to DC he had been forced to play nice with the bigwigs and other idiots, which meant he had to attend all kinds of boring functions. More than once he had encountered the retired General Ryan there and so had Sam once she was reassigned as well. At the President's insistence he'd played a few games of golf with Ryan and other higher-ranking officers and even some politicians. "He's a friend of Royston Charles and was the one who recommended the school for Sage."

"Right, I remember," Sam nodded slowly. "He said he knew some people that were affiliated with the school and that it had the best reputation and education program in the area."

"Up until now I hadn't met Royston yet but I'd met Roy several times and knew they were related," he whispered, once they reached the deck.

She squeezed his hand as they ascended the steps and turned to the two Roys. "Gentlemen, shall we join the children for the opening of Sage's presents?"

"Of course, Samantha," Royston said.

Jack rolled his eyes and made his way inside, grabbing two bottles of water from the fridge and went back into the living room where Sage was already seated in front of the pile of presents. The room was crowded with all the children and adults so he leaned against the mantelpiece, where he had a good view of his daughter and waited for Sam to join him. She didn't disappoint and took one of the bottles from him as the two Roys each sat down in the only free seats, clearly a strategic move by the Vogels, he mused.

"Can I open the presents now, Daddy?" Sage asked after looking around the room.

"Yeah sure you betcha, kiddo!"

She didn't have to be told twice and grabbed the nearest yellow-wrapped box to tear the paper off. Jack could practically feel Sam wince at the ferocity of their daughter's attack and knew the effort it cost his wife not to say anything about gently peeling off the tape to keep the paper intact. Sam had always been a bit of a neat freak and the first time she'd gotten him a gift she'd looked horrified as he ripped the paper off without a second thought and tossed it over his shoulder. It was a trait Sage had inherited from him in spite of Sam's attempts at showing the girl how to carefully unwrap a present over the last seven years.

"A Barbie! Awesome!" Sage beamed, holding the box in front of her to show everyone. "Thank you!"

Jack wasn't too sure about the gold dress and weird headband the doll was wearing but maybe his experiences with Goa'uld had colored his judgments. He watched as Sage set the gift aside to grab a new present. It was always the same with birthdays and Christmases; he tore off everything as quickly as possible, Sage was even worse in that she balled up the paper none too gently and tossed it aside while Sam would take the time to slowly peel back every piece of tape and corner of paper. Sometimes he wondered if she only did it to test his patience and curiosity since he and Sage were usually the ones left at the edge of their seat as Sam would peek under the paper to see what she'd gotten and smile smugly.

"Oooh, look! It's Lego," she cried.

He wholeheartedly approved of the new Lego set, wondering when he could help her build it as he took a sip of water. To his surprise most of the kids were quiet, all seemingly enthralled by the presents Sage was unwrapping and the adults just watched fondly. Sam nudged him in the ribs when she got hold of their daughter's newest GI Joe-like action man doll and Jack had to admit there was an uncanny resemblance between the salt and pepper-haired doll in BDUs and himself from a few years ago. Then again, most of those dolls looked alike. Heck, half of Sage's male dolls had the exact same face just different outfits and gear and a few of them had actual hair on their heads.

Another male doll with brown hair joined a raven-haired and blonde Barbie, making Jack grimace at the picture forming in his mind about how he'd be probably spending much of Sage's summer vacation. He also wondered why she needed even more of these dolls to play with when she already had at least a dozen in her room. There were only so many scenarios they could play out, after all. He breathed a sigh of relief when her next gift was a baseball glove, followed by a coloring set, some paint and brushes and even a baseball bat.

It certainly looked like most of the kids' parents - or more like their nannies - had gone all out to ensure Sage got everything she'd ever wished for and Jack briefly wondered if there would be anything left she'd want for Christmas or her next birthday. There was even an RC car and plane among the presents and he secretly couldn't wait to try those out. By the looks of it neither could some of his daughter's friends. Jack wasn't sure whether he should be happy with the plastic skateboard look-a-like thing she'd gotten but he knew it had been on her wish list and that a bunch of her friends already had one.

It didn't surprise him though to see there weren't any real educational gifts since he'd bought quite a few birthday presents for Sage's classmates and friends this year too. He wasn't really worried about it, knowing Daniel, Jonas, Landry and a bunch of other folks of the SGC would make sure Sage got those kinds of things. Sam had already been looking at some science-y kid stuff too before they'd decided what to give their daughter for her birthday this year. Mitchell, Vala and Teal'c usually got some of the cool toys so there was a nice balance, even if it was slightly leaning towards the cool stuff. Most of the time he couldn't tell who had more fun in a toy store or when playing with the toys, the two aliens or his daughter. Jack couldn't really blame the hundred-and-fifty-year-old Teal'c considering the childhood Jaffa had and he figured Vala's hadn't been much different.

"Sage," Sam said. The kids had all been checking out the presents now that everything had been unwrapped but soon quieted at her voice and turned their attention to her. "I was asked to give you another present by someone."

"Who, Mommy?"

Jack immediately recognized the look that was sent his way by his wife and dutifully went to get the package she'd placed in their home office. She had gotten it out of the car last night when Sage had been preoccupied with something else but he had no idea who had given it to her. Probably someone from the SGC but he wasn't sure who considering their old team usually weren't so mysterious about it. Once he'd retrieved the gift he went back to the living room, smiling when he saw the note. "It's from the Hayes, Sage," he called out from the corridor.

"Prez Henry?" She squealed and he could hear the sudden murmur of conversation under the adults. "Is it a pony?"

"No munchkin, it's not a pony," he said as he stepped into the living room and showed her the package.

Her shoulders sagged and she pouted. "Oh, but Prez Henry promised I could ride a pony."

"He didn't say that would be for your birthday, did he?" Jack asked, relieved when she shook her head. Henry Hayes and his wife had invited them over for dinner on several occasions when he'd still been in charge of HWC and even a few times after his retirement so they knew Sage pretty well.

"Former President Hayes?" Mrs Vogel questioned in a high-pitched voice. "You have met him?"

Royston Charles chuckled and shook his head at her. "Of course they have met the man, Eleanor. Jack and Samantha are both very high-ranking officers and were working at the Pentagon. My friend, General Michael Ryan, is a friend of them and Henry Hayes as well."

"Well, the former president must like you very much to send you a present for your birthday, Sage," William said.

"Former? Did Mommy fire him too?" She asked, frowning when all the adults started laughing. "What's funny, Daddy?"

Jack quickly walked over to her, zigzagging through the living room to avoid stepping on any of the kids, and sat down next to her on the floor. "Your mom can't fire the President, Sage. Presidents only serve for a few years, four or eight. Prez Henry's time was up so that's why he isn't the President anymore."

"But I like him, he gives me presents!"

He laughed and handed her the gift. "Well, he's still giving you presents even though he's not the president anymore so I don't think you have anything to worry about, munchkin."

"Okay," she nodded, her hands already looking for an opening in the package.

"You have to be really careful with opening it, sweetie," Sam said. "Maybe Daddy should help you. Nice and gentle."

Jack's eyebrows shot up in surprise because she had given up on such warnings a couple of years ago unless it was really necessary. Hmm, it looked like his lovely wife knew exactly what was in the box! "Sure, I'll help," he said, lending a helping hand and carefully opening the package. The actual gift was wrapped delicately in paper and rather heavy, so he held it. "Just peel back the paper," he encouraged his daughter.

"Very gentle," Sam added.

Sage's eyebrows knitted together in concentration and she was suddenly the image of her mother as she followed the instructions. "Oh," she gasped, "look Daddy!"

"Sweet!" He grinned, admiring the book. Opening it he wasn't surprised to see it was a first edition and quickly caught the knowing gaze of his wife. They shared a smile before he looked at the other expectant faces in the room and explained. "It's a first edition of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz from 1900. Sage and I collect all the Oz titles, don't we?"

"Yeah!" She bobbed her head enthusiastically. "This makes... fourteen, right Daddy?"

"It sure does. Now we have all Baum's books and only need the other twenty-six by other authors." Christ, it was an expensive gift, even for a former president! No wonder Sam had stored it in the office, where they had the other books as well to preserve them as best they could since there wasn't any direct sunlight there. No doubt she had been in cahoots with Hayes considering this was the only one by Baum he didn't have yet but he really couldn't be upset about it now that he finally had this book!

Royston cleared his throat and tapped his cane on the floor, clearly used to demanding attention from a room full of people. "I must say I think it's wonderful the two of you share such a hobby. Reading is very important, not just for everyday life but also to stimulate the imagination. I have a love of books myself and I wholeheartedly approve of the Oz stories! Children's stories and fairytales used to be much better than the modern tripe they produce or ‘reinvent' these days," he muttered.

"I'm just going to put this away for now so we can move onto our present," Sam suggested, coming over and taking the book from Jack. "Why don't you all go outside in the meantime?"

"Yeah, go on," Jack urged Sage when she looked at him. "It's in the garage for safekeeping." He chuckled when all the kids dashed outside, the adults following more slowly and he sipped his water as he walked over to the sliding doors.

"You must be on very good terms with Hayes for him to gift your daughter such a collector's item," William said when he stepped onto the deck. "Not just because of the price but for him to know about your collection."

Jack shrugged, watching the children in the yard and inwardly trying to come up with a good reason to wait with cleaning up the mess until tomorrow for Sam. "Henry Hayes is a good man considering he's a politician and all. My late CO met him when they were young lieutenants and when Hayes was inaugurated they met again at the White House because of the work we did. They picked where they'd left off and became good friends," he paused, briefly thinking of George Hammond. "I was introduced to Hayes during one award ceremony or another and once Sam and I were reassigned to DC we saw even more of him."

"That sounds like you only know him on a professional level, yet he knew what kind of present to send."

"Not all the business meetings take place in the White House. Some were in more of a social setting, on the golf course, at a ceremony or dinners with our families. He sucks at golf though."

After putting the book away Sam made her way outside, smiling at the sight of her daughter and her friends lined up in the yard. It seemed they were all eager to see what her last present was going to be, or maybe they were simply too tired after all their activities and the food they'd eaten to play around. The neighbors were talking with Eleanor, Royston and his grandson in the sitting area on the deck and Jack and William were standing off to the side so she went down to the kids. When she caught her husband's eye he signaled for her to go ahead and retrieve the gift and that he'd be there in a minute.

"Okay, sweetie, you stay out here with your eyes closed while I'll get your present out of the garage, okay?" She asked Sage, who bobbed her head enthusiastically.

"Yeah sure you betcha, Mommy!" She immediately closed her eyes and dramatically covered half her face with her hands. "No peeking, see!"

Sam chuckled and opened the garage door, went inside and flipped the light switch. With a few steps she reached the present she and Jack had bought for their daughter and pulled the blanket covering it off. Squatting she looked through the chicken wire of the hutch's run and quickly spotted the white ball of fluff in the corner. "C'mere bunny," she called out, mimicking the sounds the woman who'd sold them the rabbit had made. There had been dozens of bunnies but this one had been the most curious and affectionate one of the bunch so the choice had been easily made.

It may not be the pony or puppy Sage wanted but this bunny was going to be her first pet. A bunny was pretty low maintenance in comparison. Sage was only turning seven this week so Jack and Sam had decided to start small for her, even though he'd mentioned getting a dog plenty of times. It just wasn't the right time. Maybe in a year or two, when their daughter was a bit older and could share dog-walking duties with him while she herself was keeping the SGC running. A pony was simply out of the question. But a small bunny would teach Sage a sense of responsibility and that pets weren't just there for fun but also required taking care of. Perhaps there was also a more selfish reason to it for Sam considering she had always wanted a pet - any kind - as a kid but was never allowed because they were always moving around for her Dad's career.

She smiled when the bunny hopped forward in the run, sticking its little nose through the chicken wire in curiosity. A few inches to the left there was a small door and she unhooked it to reach in and grab the bunny. It kicked its little paws for a moment while she hauled it up into the safety of her arms and cuddled it close. The small rabbit was almost three months old and had lots of hair but its body was actually pretty tiny and could just fit in the palm of her hand.

Making her way back Sam held the bunny close and carefully opened the garage door with her free hand, peeking outside to make sure Sage's eyes were still closed. Jack was standing next to her now, a big grin on his face in anticipation of their daughter's reaction to the pet no doubt. "Okay, I'm coming out. Are you ready, Sage?"

"Yes Mommy!"

Sam couldn't suppress her own grin at the girl's eager tone of voice and the smiles and gasps from Sage's friends when they saw the little white ball of fluff in her arms as she stepped onto the grass. Within seconds she was standing in front of her daughter and sat down on her knees, to be on eye level with her. For a moment she thought about putting the bunny in Sage's arms but she wasn't sure what her reaction would be and didn't want the animal to get injured accidentally in Sage's enthusiasm so Sam held it herself. "Okay, open your eyes, sweetie."

"It's a bunny!" Sage squealed as she jumped up and down. "Look Daddy!" She cried, tugging on his arm.

"I know, munchkin," Jack said with a smile and ruffled her hair. "Do you want to hold it?"

"Can I? Can I, Mommy?"

Loosening her hold on the rabbit Sam held it on the palm of her hand. "Pet it first so you two can get used to each other," she instructed. "Gently."

"Like this?" Sage carefully laid her hand on the fluffy white fur, giggling when her hand sank through the hair until it reset on the pet's warm body.

"Just like that."

"I think she likes you," Jack said.

Sam smiled at the joy she could see on their daughter's face as she petted the bunny. "I think so too. Now, hold your hands like this so you can hold her."

"What's her name?" Sage asked as she followed the instructions and took the animal from her, holding it close to her chest.

Jack watched as she cuddled the bunny and grinned. "She's yours now so you have to name her and take care of her by feeding, petting, holding and brushing her."

"You will also have to clean her hutch every week and let her run around in the bunny-run every day or so," Sam added. For now they had a standard hutch with a closed area and a run built to it but Jack had promised to make a bigger bunny-run once they had decided where to place it in the yard.

"I'm naming her Miffy!" Sage said with a proud smile.

Miffy was the small rabbit in picture books they'd bought for her over the years and even though Sage was getting in the older age range for them she still watched the character's television show whenever it was on TV, so it really shouldn't have surprised Sam she would immediately think of the white rabbit to name her pet. Now that the other kids were crowding Sage to get a good look at the latest addition Sam kept an eye on them to make sure it wouldn't be stressful or anything for the animal. "I think she's happy with her present," she said when Jack came up to her side and slid his arm around her.

"I agree. Now let's just hope the novelty won't wear off too soon and we're saddled with a pet she doesn't want any more in a few years," he replied.

"Well, at least then we know it probably won't be such a good idea to get other pets, like a cat or a dog."

He frowned, probably not pleased at the prospect of never getting a dog but let it go. "Or a pony."

An hour and a half later Jack was collecting dirty towels all around the yard and inside the house now that the kids had all gotten dressed in their regular outfits again and their parents were picking them up. Despite the mess they were left with - fortunately most of it was outside - he considered it a very successful party. From the slightly amused looks from a few of the parents and nannies he figured they felt the same as they were confronted with sleepy and tired children, who were all chatting about the fun they'd had.

The Jenkins and Martinezes had already left with their kids about half an hour ago, determined to get some rest after all the help they'd provided today and Sam was talking to the parents and nannies. Most were in and out pretty fast, barely saying hello before saying their goodbyes but a few were sticking around to hear about the events and congratulate a sleepy Sage.

Miffy was back in her hutch in the garage where she would be staying for the moment until he had decided what the best place in the yard would be for the bunny. Couldn't be too exposed to the elements but he would prefer to be able to see the hutch from the deck instead of setting it in some dark, shaded corner of the backyard.

"I have to go, General Jack," Billy said. The boy's parents were standing behind him, William looking quite relaxed and Eleanor still appeared piqued yet slightly more composed and calmer than before Royston Charles had arrived and praised her for participating in the event.

"Well, I hope you had a good time, kid. We were glad you were able to make it and of course we're very grateful for your parents' help in supervising," Jack added, trying to play nice as his wife had suggested.

"It was awesome," Charlotte piped in. "I want a bunny too!"

"I'm afraid lots of children will be requesting a bunny or a pool filled with gelatin now," Royston Charles said from behind her. "I was just talking to my grandson, William here and your wife about the wonderful activities and involvement from today. Samantha told me you were the one who had organized everything."

Jack cleared his throat awkwardly and nodded slowly. "Um, yeah."

"I have also spoken to some of the parents, who all seemed very pleased with their children's stories about the party. Now, I suggested this to Roy earlier and I'll be more than happy to discuss this with the principal and school board and other parents at the school but I felt I should bring the idea to you first."

"What idea?"

Roy Lancaster smirked and lifted his sleepy daughter before turning his attention on him. "My grandfather and I think it would be a great idea if you were to join the PTO. I try to get involved with Charlotte's school activities as much as I can but as a single father it's difficult to find the time. However, we both think another father might just be what the school needs. The children are all quite fond of you, Jack, and you managed to get all of them involved in your crazy games."

"Oh well, I don't know..." He trailed off, rubbing the back of his neck in discomfort. "The PT-what?"

"Parent Teacher Organization," Eleanor said haughtily. "We encourage parent, teacher and community involvement and facilitate this by providing the proper programs. Some of our yearly activities include bicycle safety, reading programs, science or math programs, pedestrian safety... even drug awareness and energy conservation."

Oy! She did not look like a happy camper but the three men were all looking at him with various degrees of curiosity. "Right, those programs. Uh, I'll think about it, okay?"

"It would be so cool if you'd go with us on field trips, General Jack!" Billy cried in excitement, positively beaming at him.

"We'll see, sport. I would have to look into it a bit more and see if I can manage it with all the other things I do. Sam and I'll discuss it and if she agrees I'll ask Sage if she'd be okay with me getting involved at her school."

"Oh nonsense," Royston made a dismissive gesture. "Your daughter clearly adores you."

"Right now maybe, but she might not be so happy with it in a few years."

Eleanor still looked upset with the whole thing but gave them all a tight smile. "Of course Mister O'Neill would have to be voted in."

"Don't worry about it, son. I'll be pleased to back you and I can think of a few more parents who'd be more than happy to see you get aboard the PTO if it means their children participate this actively more often," Royston said.

"Yes well, we'll see," Eleanor said curtly. "William, Billy, we have to leave now."

Jack took this as an opening and quickly said his goodbyes to them and the others, ushering them all out the door within twenty minutes. "Alone at last," he sighed, plopping down on the sofa next to Sage.

"You and William seemed to have hit it off," Sam commented as she joined them.

"We talked about golf, Henry Hayes and apparently Royston somehow knows about the cabin because he'd told him about our ‘vacation home' in Minnesota."

"Interesting stuff," she mocked him.

He rolled his eyes and pulled a half-asleep Sage on his lap before sagging against his wife. "Royston and Charlotte's dad also think I should join the PTO at school," he made a face.

That seemed to get her attention as she pulled back slightly to look him in the face. "What did you say?"

"That I'd think about it... But not tonight. God, I'm exhausted."

"Me too."

"I feel all bruised and battered, like the old days," Jack whined.

Sam yawned and then grimaced as she automatically stretched her tall frame. "Ouch. Oh yeah, that's going to hurt in the morning."

"Maybe I shouldn't have used the slip ‘n slide so many times. Or ducked and rolled all over the grass to evade the badly aimed water balloons coming my way."

"My hip hurts from hitting the pool's bottom a few times too many," Sam complained.

"I'm getting too old for this," he said. "But at least the party was a success."

"Sage has enough toys to last her a lifetime now."

Jack craned his neck to get a look at their daughter's face and smiled when he realized she was fast asleep. "Let's get her upstairs. Then we can take a long hot shower to ease the kinks in my back."

Sam nodded and slowly got up. Reaching out she grabbed his hand and pulled him, with a sleeping Sage on his other arm, up. "Maybe we can take a quick shower to clean up and then take a long hot bath together."

"Hmm... No sense in waking up the munchkin, she can get cleaned up in the morning and we'll just change her sheets."

"Great idea," she agreed. "Come, let's go upstairs."

The End...