Sam Carter stepped into the elevator and pressed the button for the floor of her lab automatically while her mind was far away. Luckily there was nobody else in there or they might have noticed the pink tinge to her cheeks as she replayed the weekend in her mind. Who would have thought? She had not expected it. He was many things but romantic was not a word which sprang to mind.

As she walked along the corridor, her musings were interrupted by Daniel and Cam, who broke off their discussion to ask about her weekend. She was just framing a careful answer when Daniel froze and stared.

'Jackson!'

'What?'

'You don't stare at a lady's, um, front like that. It aint decent.'

Daniel grinned at Cam, 'Alright, farmboy, but you missed the point.'

'The point?'

Daniel ignored him and turned to Sam, 'I didn't know you were going public.'

The other two both looked at him in confusion, before enlightenment dawned on Sam's face and she looked awkward.

'Uh, no, it was just...To be honest I had forgotten...I didn't think anyone would notice.'

'Interesting, especially in light of previous history,' Daniel muttered and Cam looked totally lost.

'Are we still speaking English here? What point? What did Sam forget? What did I not notice? Even more interestingly, what previous history do you mean?'

Daniel looked at Sam and mouthed the word 'sorry' at her while she shrugged.

'Nothing, Cam, just Daniel reading far more into things than there really is.'

'Oh, come on, Sam, adornment has been a sociological statement through the ages and...'

'And times change, Daniel.'

'But people don't. When someone acts out of character there is usually a good reason and I know you said you forgot, but I wonder if subconsciously you are making a statement.'

Cam looked between them in bewilderment, 'OK, it's not April Fool, so I assume this isn't a wind up. I am used to you two speaking geek talk and the rest of us not understanding, but this sounds like normal English and it's still not making any sense.'

Sam just smiled and said, 'Ignore him, Cam, a weekend off has ruined his perspective. He has had too much exposure to the real world, where people do things for a whole host of reasons and often just cos they can.'

'I still don't get whatever it was, but I have to go check Hodgson has checked the gear. We don't want to have another incident like SG3's.'

With that Cam wandered off, but he would have been even more confused by the whispered conversation of those he left behind.

'I'm sorry, Sam, I didn't think. I just saw it and assumed it was deliberate.'

'I just, well, I've had it all weekend and kinda forgot it was there, but maybe it was subconsciously planned. I don't know. Normally I check before I leave home, but he was still there and...'

'We agreed not too much information, remember? Hey, I was just surprised knowing how meticulous you are, but in a good way. Only with Pete...'

'I know, it surprised me too. I didn't expect to want to shout it from the rooftops, as the cliché goes, but I do and I can't. Well, not too obviously, anyway, so you're probably right my mind just omitted to mention it to my conscious self. It hadn't banked on you being so eagle eyed. It is easy to forget that while you may be oblivious to feminine whiles, anything which has anthropological overtones you see.'

'I'm not oblivious.'

'Daniel, I have seen so many women flirt with you and you not notice that I have lost count. One in particular springs to mind.'

'Who?'

They were interrupted by Teal'c who nodded in passing, then paused and looked at Sam again. He bowed to her in his stately way and murmured, 'At last. But I assume discretion is still required.'

He did not wait for an answer but continue on his way as if nothing had occurred. Sam and Daniel could not help laughing and the archaeologist noted 'That would have freaked Cam out even more. Well, none so blind as they who cannot see, as his grandmother would doubtless have said.'

They separated and each went to start their day's work with a smile.

The next time they met was at a briefing and Daniel was amused to notice that Walter was as sharp as ever. He took one look at Sam then gave her a beaming smile, but tactfully said nothing. He was not the only one to notice the subtle change but Daniel was pleased to notice that Sam seemed to accept it as the day wore on and more people looked, then looked again and then grinned at her as if she had delivered their firstborn. She also made no attempt to hide it and gradually started to bask in the evident approval of all those around her who had been around long enough to understand her extremely subtle statement.

Eventually, Cam grew impatient with the feeling of being the only child in class who had not seen the teacher's skirt tucked in her knickers. He could hardly have missed all the second glances at his colleague or the enthusiastic and pleased reaction to some signal he had missed.

SG1 were sitting in the mess when he cracked.

'OK, new guys here, we are obviously not in on some secret code. Everyone who was here before I arrived seems to see something about Sam which is deeply significant, but I'm missing it. Vala and I should be in the loop, guys.'

Vala looked at him in astonishment,

'Speak for yourself.'

'Do you mean they have told you and not me? What is this, some kind of conspiracy?'

'Of course not. I have eyes, I don't need telling.'

Cam turned to look at Sam and started a visual inventory of everything about her, all the while muttering to himself.

'Hair, don't think hair has changed, not wearing glasses or anything, no spots, no earrings – single or both, no make-up, well not that I can tell but they all go on about the 'barely there' look so how are you supposed to tell, she's blushing slightly, but that's probably my fault for mentioning spots or something. Ah, a necklace, think now, Sam doesn't wear any jewellery at work, yet she is today and Jackson was looking at her chest. But it's just a necklace with a fish on it, so could that be what all the fuss is about?'

Just then he registered a strange silence in the mess and, after a brief panic that he had voiced his thoughts louder than intended, realised that his companions' attention was firmly focussed on the door – along with most of the room.

He turned to look, expecting something worth of this odd effect on a group of extremely jaded people, but it was only General O'Neill paused in the doorway looking round with a slight smile on his face. Why did Cam get the feeling that he too was in on this thing? Maybe it was something in his expression, a kind of suppressed excitement coupled with laughter. They had not seen the General for a while, so there was no reason to suppose that he had any inside information that had not been shared with Cam. He tended to pop in for a visit when he was in the area, so his appearance was not exactly noteworthy enough for the attention of the entire mess to still be on him.

O'Neill walked over to SG1 through a crowd of excited, happy people who were all smiling at him as if he had won Olympic gold. The only ones to whom this did not seem to make sense were newer staff, who look as bemused as Cam felt.

The General reached their table and looked at Sam. This time Cam was alert for a reaction to the unseen clue, but he got more than he bargained for. O'Neill's eyes went straight to the necklace around her neck and a smile edged the corner of his mouth. Cam was stunned to see Sam blush a deep crimson and lower her eyes.

His thought went into hyperdrive – 'something understood by all the oldtimers, seems to be related to O'Neill as well, OK so the necklace is significant, Sam doesn't wear jewellery at work, but it can't be just that, wow, that is some blush, fish, fish, fishing, O'Neill, Sam...Oh My G...no, but it makes sense, why did I not see that before, actually I'm glad I didn't see that before, wish I was still in the dark, this is going to take some processing. At least they have been discrete, although the necklace seems to have been more blatant than Sam intended, like a beacon to some. Interesting to note who understood the sign and to see people working it out now. Well, I suppose the others will be told soon enough. Too late, cannot believe it. He kissed her. Right here in the mess. Want to cover my eyes. But it was only a peck, Cam, grow up. It was just unexpected and, well, incongruous. Wow, I didn't know you could go that red –and that's only Jackson, has the man never seen people kiss before?'

General O'Neill turned and addressed the mess, still holding Colonel Carter's hand,

'Thank you, folks, now show's over so we are going back to work. Sg1.'

Without a word SG1 followed him out of the mess to rapturous applause.