Disclaimer: Stargate SG-1 and its characters are the property of Showtime/Viacom, MGM/UA, Double Secret Productions, and Gekko Productions. This story was created for entertainment purposes only. No copyright infringement is intended. The original characters, situations, and story are the property of the author(s).

Sam and Jack headed for the SGC early the next morning. Both of them were nervous, but trying to show the other that they were fine. They chatted about nothing as Jack drove across town.

"So, nothing helpful from PX3 777?" Jack asked.

"Merlin was quite the philosopher. He keeps going on about the pure of mind. I find it a little odd."

"Odd?"

"You'd expect him to say 'pure of heart' not mind. I don't know…something about that bothers me."

"Have you told Daniel?"

"Yeah, he agrees, but then says that his translations are right, even without the PDA…it could say pure of soul, but that doesn't make much of a difference."

She looked out the window and in the reflection Jack could see that she was turning things over and over in her head.

"Hey."

She looked back, serious then smiled.

"You need to back away from this Carter. Maybe you are too close and not seeing everything. Plus, I don't have much time this trip, I need to go back and pack up my office, the apartment…so I'd kind of like your attention over here."

He wiggled a finger around his chest area.

"I was thinking about that too. Maybe we should get a new place?"

"Hmm?"

"Maybe we should get a place that is ours?"

"I like your place and I thought you did to?"

"I do, I do, but it's mine, you know, all the stuff there is mine…"

"Number one, with the baby and the Ori coming, do either of us have time to go house hunting? And number two, I plan on bringing my Simpson's water glasses and a bit of other stuff when I leave Washington. Don't worry, it'll our place soon enough."

He patted her leg with affection. She should know that as long as he was with her, it didn't matter where they lived.

Sam had never really had this before. She was getting all 'nesty'. Her most exciting find last week was the exact colour of paint that she wanted for the baby's room. She gotten a feeling usually reserved for finding a really great piece of technology. This 'nesty' feeling was strange for an Air Force brat. Home had always been where Mark and parents were, not a fixed address on a map. Hell, living in Colorado Springs had been the longest stint in one place in her entire life.

"I want to get started on the baby's room."

"So, no moving?"

"When you're right, I listen. I'm not sure I know how to do this, Jack."

"Paint? We'll get the guys over one Saturday afternoon and get it done in no time. It's not hard."

She smiled but there was something in her face he didn't like.

"Carter, I have absolutely no concern about your skills as a Mother. I have never met anyone who is more loving and caring than you. Cassie saw it right off. She was in love with you from the moment she saw you."

"I was in love with her too, but it was easy. She was a little person already. Babies are different."

"Yup they are, but you'll have help. I'll be there and you'll probably have to throw Daniel out of the house…And hey, you and Siler could always build a robo-nanny."

She laughed. Jack could make her doubts seem silly…valid but silly. They were at the base and her excitement at seeing the baby started push away at everything else.

"I need to stop into my office first. I left my PDA there and I need a couple of things…" She said as they went through security.

They took the elevator down to 19 and got off. Jack followed her down the hall, thinking that he'd be glad to get back here.

General Landry came around the corner and spotted her.

"Colonel Carter? Didn't I order you off the base until Tuesday?"

"Yes sir, but you were out ranked."

He looked at Jack and raised an eyebrow. "You find it necessary to bring her back here?"

Jack laughed and lifted his hands palms up.

"It wasn't me."

"Actually it was me." Caroline Lam came around the corner behind her father.

Landry turned and smiled at his daughter. "Ah… how is the Mother-to-be?"

"Good, just a little curiosity on behalf of her doctor. Shall we go down to the infirmary Sam?"

"Sure, I just need to grab something off my desk."

Jack and Hank stood in the hallway talking while the ladies dropped into Carter's lab. There was a light blinking on her phone and Sam was tempted to answer it.

"You aren't here to work, Sam."

"I know, but I'm nervous."

"Nothing to be nervous about. Let's go have a look at that beautiful baby of yours."

Jack waved at Hank and told him that he'd talk to him later. There'd be plenty of time.

Once in the infirmary Jack waited outside the curtain while Sam changed into scrubs. He came in when Caroline called him.

"You sure you don't mind me being here for the internal part of the exam?" Jack asked.

"Of course. Unless you don't want to be here?"

"I want to be part of everything."

"Well, I'm done here." Caroline said from the end of the bed. "Everything looks exactly as it should. Let's get the sonogram done."

She applied the gel to the wand and waited while the General helped Sam pull up her shirt. He was absolutely smitten with her and it was cute. Caroline didn't know him well, but she could tell he wasn't going to be afraid of a diaper or two.

"Okay, here we go." She slid the wand around 'the bump'.

Jack and Sam squinted at the screen but neither of them could make out a thing.

"Well, well, well. This explains a lot!" Caroline exclaimed.

"What?" Sam and Jack asked simultaneously.

"Your baby…has a womb-mate."

Puzzlement flashed across their faces. They didn't even groan at Caroline's bad joke.

Caroline pointed to the screen and swirled a finger around two blobs. They were pulsing.

"Two heart beats."

Sam and Caroline were glued to the monitor but turned to look when they heard a crash.

Jack had bumped the little metal table on the way down to his seat.

"Two?"

"Yup!" Caroline was pointing at the screen again. "Do you want to know the sex"
"No." Sam said quickly.

"I was positive that it was a boy, but now? Two boys?" Jack was muttering to himself.

Vala chose that moment to pop her head around the curtain. "Two? Is this another secret I'm going to have to keep?"

Everybody turned to look.

"Not for long Vala, we'll tell the guys soon." Sam said turning back to the screen.

They wrapped up after Vala left. The two parents were stunned as Sam got dressed.

"I guess we should get the gang together and let them in on the news." Sam said pulling her shirt back over her head.

"Yup, tonight?" Jack looked completely shell-shocked.

They were sitting around Sam's backyard after the meal. The team, including Vala, Hank and Caroline were there. Daniel took a pull on the beer he had been nursing.

"Whatcha doing Danny?"

"Trying to figure out who the babies look like." He had one of the copies of the sonogram that Caroline had printed off.

"I know…" Jack leaned forward. "If I wasn't so confidant a man, I'd be concerned. Carter? These boys look a lot like Thor."

Everybody laughed. Sam elbowed Jack in the ribs. This was the most relaxation the group had had in months.

Cam stood by the rail and smiled. He'd been part of this team for a while but he still hadn't quite gotten to the level of inclusion that the original team shared. He knew that in a lot of ways Daniel, Teal'C and Sam still considered him the 'new guy', and he was still a little nervous around Major General Jack O'Neill. Vala, it seemed had no such issue. She was comfortable anywhere they went.

"So, Daniel, when are you going to have Sam's shower?" Caroline asked.

Daniel sputtered around the beer in his mouth. They were her closest friends, was it up to them to throw those things?

"I am confused…people bathe the pregnant lady?" Vala asked.

Again there was laughing, Vala still had a bit of a metaphor issue.

"A baby shower is where friends get together and give the parents and baby, or in this case babies, gifts. Kind of a welcome to the neighbourhood thing." Caroline explained.

"Loot? People get together and give you stuff?"

"Yup." Jack replied.

"Hmmm, we'll need to organize this right away." Vala was planning.

"I am going to have to begin a new search for infant conveyance units." Teal'C stated out of the blue.

Everybody looked at him.

"Strollers, T." Jack supplied.

"That is what I said."

"Oh, and not to over-shadow the great baby news, I have a little announcement I'd like to make." Jack said.

Hank had gotten the heads up yesterday, but hadn't said anything to the team, figuring that Jack would want to share.

"I'm coming home."

"You quit your job?" Daniel asked.

"Why is that the first thing everybody asks? No I didn't quit. I convinced the President that it would be a good idea to be here. That I would be better able to defend the Earth if I was closer to the Gate."

"I'm keeping the office, Jack." Landry said

"It's yours; I never liked the desk anyway."

Everybody babbled in excitement. It was a good night. They all stayed late and ate and drank and goofed around, teasing and laughing, no one being exempted.

Jack and Sam finally got ready for bed.

"I think they're happy for us." Jack said.

"Oh yeah, Daniel and Teal'C will be glad to have you back."

Jack slid his arms around her. "How about you? Will Carter be glad to have me back?"

She leaned her head back and whispered into his ear. "Carter will be very happy to have you back. She needs the babies' room fixed up."

He laughed and rubbed 'the bump'. Was he going to have to call it 'the bumps' now? Two babies…he remembered how high energy Charlie had been as a kid, how would he keep up, ten years later, with two O'Neill boys?

"We are having a two fer, Samantha."

"Yup, when we do something Jack, we do it well. I was kind of concerned about having an only child."

"You don't think we'll have another one?"

This time she laughed. "Let's get through this first. Maybe we'll get a dog next."

A dog. He hadn't thought of that. His boys needed a dog.

Sensing that he was plotting Sam said quickly. "No Jack, a dog has to be let out, often, and I can't always be on the planet, let alone at the house. Until one of us is around here for at least 8 hours a day, there is no dog."

Jack flew back to Washington to over see the packing. Landry decided that since Sam wasn't going off world every time SG1 did, she should handle the overseeing of the new offices. Facilities would handle most of it and Sam being uber-intellegent, roped Siler into handling most of the other arrangements.

When the boxes for Jack's office showed up, she took that job personally. She had worked with him for years and knew how he liked his stuff. Game boy and jelly beans in the top right hand drawer…

She found pictures in frames in one of the boxes. There were a few of Charlie, some of Jack, Sarah and Charlie, and many of the original SG1. She wasn't offended by the lack of pictures of her alone. They were still trying to fly under the radar, not making a big deal out of the fact that they were together. She did have a surprise for him though. She'd gone out and gotten a glass frame and framed the sonogram showing both babies. They'd both decided that they could make out their children in that shot. She put it right on his desk, next to a good one of Charlie.

She stepped back from his desk. She had made sure that all of the drawers worked and that his chair was comfortable. She'd left a bowl of hard candy on the filing cabinet and a stash of other junk in one of the drawers. It would be nice having Jack only a couple of floors away from her lab. He'd be there soon.

She headed off to her lab, closing the door to his office behind her. The 'boys' were starting to kick up a fuss. She'd had felt them fluttering around in there for a few weeks but now they were playing some kind of full contact sport. Twins, even after a full week, the thought still filled her with awe. She was waiting for the elevator when the klaxon's started shrieking. Instead of pressing 19, she hit 28 and made her way to the Gate room.

"We have a radio signal from SG1." She heard Walter tell Landry as she came up the stairs.

Through the crackling she heard Cam. "Is Colonel Carter there?"

She leaned over the mic. "Yeah Cam, I'm here. What's up?"

"We found something Sam. Daniel would like you to have a look before we move it."

"Gimme ten to get dressed and I'll be there." She looked at Landry who nodded.

Carter ran to get ready. She needed a larger vest and suddenly it was mandatory for her to wear a Kevlar vest with a chest plate. It was like the one that had saved Jack's life, just not Janet's. 'The bump' was completely covered and as protected as it could be.

She realized that she was smiling as she entered the Gate room. It was a great feeling to be Colonel Carter again. Recently she'd been feeling a little left out, kind of down as Sam the Mommy. She was happy and excited about the babies, but the thrill of the unknown was something she'd never let go of. It had been part of her for way too long to completely leave, even for something as wonderful as her children.

She materialized through the Gate to find Teal'C and Cam waiting for her. They'd positioned themselves on either side, right next to the event horizon, to catch her if she stumbled.

"Okay guys, I'm fine."

Cam had the grace to look chagrined. Teal'C just nodded.

"Do you wish to vomit Colonel Carter?" Teal'C asked.

"Once, I threw up once. I've been through the Gate since then, get over it Teal'C!" Sam growled at her friend.

Again Teal'C nodded.

"Sam, we need to get to a cave about 2 klicks from here. I figure it'll take us an hour."

"Are you planning on crawling there Cam?"

"We don't want to push you."

"Oh for crying out loud. I run 5 miles a day, Cam. At high altitude and mountainous terrain. I'm in great shape…being pregnant doesn't mean I've become fragile. Try to keep up."

The 'boys' actually seem to like exercise, especially if she'd been sitting in her lab for hours. The only change she'd really notice, other than the obvious weight gain, was the increase need to pee. She was still working out and doing everything she'd done before she'd gotten pregnant. The guys didn't seem to realize it and it was starting to drive her nuts. Sure, soon she'd have to cut back, but until it was absolutely necessary, she was going to keep on being herself.

It took them half an hour, the terrain was a little rougher than she'd thought, but she got there without being winded. Cam looked a little guilty when she caught him checking on her ever few minutes. Vala was waiting outside the cave, armed and ready for unfriendlies. Daniel came out when he heard them approach.

"Sam, we found something." He motioned for her to follow him inside.

There was a cache of technology scattered around on tables and shelves built in the cave. Someone had set up here.

"There's a lot of stuff here that I know you'd like to get your hands on, but this has Merlin's signature all over it."

Daniel pointed at a piece that was in a hole in the middle of the table. It looked a lot like the pad they'd found on Earth.

"We found the secret compartment when we ran this over the table."

"Could it be another one of those?" She pointed at the Ancient PDA Daniel held.

"No, there are different writings on it. I ran this one over that one and got the translations in Ancient. It says that it is the seer. Whatever that means."

Cam spoke from behind her. "We didn't want to move it until we were sure that it wasn't going to blow us up or break. There are a bunch of things in there and we needed to know if we should just grab everything and run or what."

Sam pulled out her tools and then stripped off her outer-vest to get to work. It was warm in there. She spent the next few hours going over everything in the secret compartment before starting to unload it.

Cam had more patience than Jack. It was already starting to get dark when he started to make 'shouldn't we be going now?' noises. When Sam and Daniel finally came out of the cave, they knew that they wouldn't be heading home tonight.

"I don't think we're going anywhere, Cam. That hike was rough in full day light." Sam said stretching. Her back was starting to complain.

"Anyway, we can finish up tomorrow morning and start to haul it all out by lunch." Daniel added.

Cam looked at them and shrugged. "You two want to help set up camp or set up some lanterns and keep digging in there?"

Sam looked at Daniel. They'd done a lot today, but she was hungry.

"Why don't we put together dinner and you guys set up the tents?" She said.

"Great."

They were getting things together when suddenly they heard an electronic noise coming from in the cave. Sam and Daniel were on their way back inside to see what was going on when the entrance to the cave lit up and the force from the explosion threw shrapnel out and knocked Daniel onto his ass.