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Story Notes: SPOILERS;SETH


"So, do you think Tommy Levinson's alive?" Jack asked me, leaning against the car.

"I have no idea. I don't think we'll be bringing his father good news." I glanced around. Teal'c was talking to Sam over by the tent. Daniel was no where to be seen. Now was as good a time as any.

"By the way, talking of parents, you have my permission."

"Permission?"

"To court my daughter."

Well, that shut him up. He just stared at me, trying to maintain a blank expression, and failing miserably. "Jacob, I'm not.." he began cautiously.

"Don't try and tell me you're not interested son, because I know you are."

He stared at me for a moment, then just shrugged in defeat. "Jacob, there's regulations, and.."

"Well, I always believed regulations are to keep bad soldiers in line, not stop good ones doing the right thing."

He glanced over at Sam, and I followed his gaze. He just watched her for a moment, before she felt the weight of our stares, and turned round. She waved, a slightly puzzled expression on her face. Jack and I waved back in perfect unison.

"Look at her." Jack said. "And look at me. She could do better."

"I don't think so, and its my opinion that matters. Look, I trust you. More importantly, I like you. I checked you out after I met you in Washington. I liked what I found. I know you have my daughter's best interests at heart. I wouldn't have left you with her if I didn't trust you completely with her. She's my most precious possession Jack, the best thing I've done with my life. Of all the men in her life, you're the only one who's ever felt the same way about her."

"Thanks." he said, taken aback. "I appreciate that. But she..she doesn't..."

"Has Sam ever told you how I met her mother?"

He look confused, but kept silent and waited for my explanation.

"I was stationed at a base in this country for a while, after being wounded in the line of duty. It was a black ops mission, so I couldn't tell anyone what happened, or where I had been, and I was not happy at being out of action. I soon got a reputation for being a loner, not to mention a bit of a bad-tempered bastard, and I was happy with that. Meant people left me alone. Then I saw her. She was stationed at the base too, an admin worker. And yes, technically speaking, she was under my command. I couldn't get her out of my mind though. Golden hair, big blue eyes, the sweetest smile I'd ever seen. Almost exactly like Sam. She was very self-possessed, friendly, but cool. She didn't date, even though men surrounded her like bees round a honey-pot. She brushed them all off with a laugh, which just made them all fall in love with her all the more. We rarely spoke. We saluted as we passed each other, discussed the forms I had to fill in, never anything not connected to our jobs. But I couldn't get her out of my head. I dreamt about her, both awake and sleeping. All I could see what her face, all I could hear was her voice. I thought it was ridiculous. I was a battle-hardened world-weary soldier, yet I was turned into a lovestruck teenager by this woman. I was well known for being scared of nothing, yet the thought of asking her out terrified me, in case she said no. So I said nothing, and consoled myself with the thought that I wasn't good enough for her anyway. Then, one day, I was sitting in the cafe in town, when I heard someone say, 'Can I sit with you?'. It was her. I looked round. All the seats in the cafe were empty. She was actually choosing to sit with me. I nodded, mumbled something incoherent, and she sat down, and started to talk to me. Turned out she'd liked me all along, she was just waiting for me to make the first move, as men did in those days. But now she was tired of waiting, so she was doing the asking. By the end of the meal, I had a date with her. By the end of the evening, we'd had our first kiss. By the end of the month, we knew we were in love. By the end of the year, we were married. Now the problem is, Sam may look like her mother, but emotionally, she's like me. She'll never say or do anything until you force her to."

"I don't want to force her to do anything."

"Then the two of you will continue circling each other forever, each hoping, neither daring to do anything. Daniel's coming over, by the way."

"She's not ready. I'm not ready."

"Get ready. Soon. Because one day, she might just slip through your fingers, and it'll be too late, and I know you're not stupid enough to let that happen. That's an order, Jack."

"Whatever you say, Dad."

Then Daniel joined us, and the conversation was over.

Hopefully, Jack listened to me. I know he cares for her, I trust his judgement, and to be honest, he's the only man I would trust my daughter to.



The End.




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