Take The Long Way Home by Oz Lovi
Summary: Sam goes missing during a mission and the consequences of her experience will change her life forever (and someone else's too).
Warnings: None yet.
Pairings: J/S (what can I say, I'm a Jack/Sam shipper, but I do write others too)
Season: Seven-ish Spoilers: Wee bit here and there from the whole series.
A/N: Greetings, I thought I would go ahead and post one of my other fics I've been working on for ….well, I lost track of how long now. I hope you enjoy it and please don't forget that lovely little review button after you read. I have a great deal more of this story already written, but most of it is in notebooks. So, I will be transferring it from paper to computer as soon as I can to get other chapters posted quickly, I hope.
Take The Long Way Home
Chapter 1
"Unscheduled off world activation," Walter's voice rang out over the speakers.
In the briefing room General Hammond picked up the phone. "What's going on, Sergeant?" The others gathered around the briefing table couldn't hear Walter's answer, but the General's look was enough. "SG-1, follow me," he said as he headed to the control room downstairs. Without hesitation the three men quickly followed him.
In the control room the General immediately went to the microphone. "This is General Hammond. What can we do for you, Mr. Kalan?" He noticed as the team behind him exchanged looks.
Colonel O'Neill was the first to comment. "That's the guy we met on the planet; the one that was so interested in trading for anything from Earth."
"Indeed," Teal'c added.
Over the Speaker came Kalan's voice. "I have wish to trade, if you would allow me to enter your domain."
Daniel quickly jumped in, "General, maybe he saw something that could give us a clue as to where Sam is or who took her." The pleading in his voice was obvious.
"He didn't seem to have any interest in weapons, Sir." O'Neill added.
"Do you really think he's safe?"
"Yes, Sir, besides, if he does have any weapons we have SFs."
The General nodded. "Mr. Kalan, you may come through." As the General spoke, Walter opened the Iris.
O'Neill, Teal'c, and Daniel joined the General in the 'Gate room. As they watched, the man they met on their recent mission stepped through with a less than willing companion, from the looks of things. He held a chain that was attached to the wrists of his 'companion'.
"Greetings, SG-1, General Hammond," he bowed. "I have come to trade this for any supplies you would be willing to give," he said as he indicated his 'companion'.
The General narrowed his gaze at the man. "Mr. Kalan, we don't trade people like they were property."
The man looked puzzled. "You don't?" Glancing at the robed figure he said, "Come. Let them see that you're worth trade." When the figure refused to move, he yanked on the chain, causing the person to land on their knees near the bottom of the ramp. Without a sound they stood up next to Kalan.
All eyes focused in amazement and relief on the robed figure as Kalan yanked the hood back to reveal a familiar face.
Sam's eyes glittered with scarcely concealed relief as she looked at her friends. Staring into the Colonel's eyes, they shared a quick silent message. She waited until she saw him give a barely noticeable nod. Quickly she gave Kalan a powerful kick in the back of his knee, grabbing the chain as she did. She ran off the ramp and collided with the Colonel, who quickly removed the chains from her wrists.
The General, meanwhile, signaled to the SFs who immediately turned and zatted Kalan.
"We were on the same planet still," Sam put in quickly.
With another nod, the General yelled up to the control room. "Dial up the planet from SG-1's mission." Turning to the SFs he said, "Send that trash home."
"We'll take Sam to the infirmary," Daniel said as he and his teammates turned to leave. As they walked out of the room he noticed that she seemed to stay very close to the Colonel. "Sam, is everything all right?" When she hesitated to answer he asked, "Did he hurt you?"
"No, he didn't. It's just…" she let her comment trail off as they entered the elevator. When it started moving she swayed.
O'Neill was standing partially behind her and caught her around the waist to keep her from falling. His eyes widened as she caught her balance and quickly turned toward him, removing her from his grasp. She stared in his eyes and he knew instantly that he was right. "Son of a…! You told us he didn't hurt you!" He ignored the glare from Daniel as he raised his voice.
"He didn't do what you're thinking, Sir." She defended her earlier statement.
The others stared at them. "What the heck are you talking about?" Daniel had the feeling O'Neill knew something they didn't.
"Then how…?" He was about to finfish his question when the doors opened. His better judgment won out and he held his tongue until they walked into the infirmary. Janet was waiting for them and he could see the wheels in her head turning already.
"I need to tell Janet what happened too," Sam said to the Colonel as she started to jump up onto an exam bed. She was touched when he quickly gave her a hand up. As she gave a small sigh of relief she looked at the friends around her. "Hi. Janet."
For her part Janet felt a bit out of the loop. "What did I miss?"
"That's what we were trying to find out." This from Daniel, who kept staring at Sam.
Sam pulled the robe open and let it fall on the bed behind her. All eyes stared at her. To be specific they stared at her belly. She tugged at her shirt hem as she waited for them to regain their equilibrium. As Daniel shook his head she watched him go from stunned to angry.
Daniel's attention turned to O'Neill. "You figured it out when you caught her."
The Colonel just glanced at him before turning back to Sam. "What did he do?"
"I was a test subject. Not by choice I might add." She tried to keep the tinge of anger out of her voice. "As you can see I was…impregnated by a, quote 'non invasive procedure used to assist infertile women on his planet'. The specimen used was from a human male he encountered during his trades."
Janet shook herself out of the twilight zone feel of the situation. "So he used your own eggs and a sample from a human male?"
Sam simply nodded. "It was a 'big' needle that they inserted in my stomach. According to Kalan it is almost always successful. As you can see, it works on humans too," she said as she indicated her stomach.
"Wait a minute," Daniel said as he stared at her. "You were only on his planet for a few weeks. How in the world can you be showing yet?"
"They used some kind of growth hormone." Her eyes widened and she jumped off the bed and dashed around the corner, much to the concern of her friends. After a moment she heard soft footsteps behind her. With her head over the toilet, however, she couldn't look to see who it was. As she sat back on her heels a damp washcloth appeared in front of her. She took it as she looked up. Her eyes met the very brown eyes of the Colonel.
"I thought you might need that." He waited until she patted her face with the cool cloth before holding out the glass of water he also had. The grateful look on her face was touching.
"Thank you, Sir." Slowly, she stood up and took the water from him. After rinsing her mouth out she took a sip of the cool water. "How did…"
He interrupted her, "Been there before, remember."
She nodded. "I didn't think about Sara." As soon as she mentioned his ex-wife she regretted it. She didn't want to bring up the unpleasant memories she knew would be connected to her. To her surprise he didn't seem upset. She couldn't help the thought of his lost son that popped into her mind. She winced. "I didn't mean to…" She paused as he held up a hand.
"It doesn't always bring up sad memories for me," he said, sensing what she was thinking. "There is a room full of your friends in there trying to figure out what happened."
"I guess they likely heard me." She shook her head slightly embarrassed. She walked back into the infirmary with the Colonel next to her.
"You all right, Sam?" Janet asked as she gave her a hand back onto the exam bed.
"Yeah, just a bit of morning sickness."
"All right, gentlemen, I need to look her over. Privately," she added as she pulled the curtain around the bed. She could hear them moving the chairs around close by as they situated themselves.
As the curtain was pushed open a few minutes later, the men waiting not so patiently stood up. "Well, Doc?" the Colonel asked.
"She is indeed pregnant, and it appears that whatever this injection he gave her afterwards is, it does speed up the baby's growth. I'll have to do some sonograms to figure out how soon she'll deliver." Janet lightly patted Sam's leg before walking into her office.
Sam hopped off of the exam bed, noting that Daniel flinched slightly. Deciding to nip the inevitable over protective behavior in the bud she said, "I'm not far enough along for that little hop to hurt anything."
"I didn't say anything," Daniel said sounding a little self conscious.
"Not yet," O'Neill added, nudging him lightly. He stepped toward the door. "You want to get something to eat before the debriefing?"
Sam smiled lightly at him. "Sounds good, I'm starving." She walked by him and led the way to the commissary.
As the others walked out into the hall they were practically run over by a familiar short blonde. The young woman stopped with her arms full of files. "Sorry, Colonel, I didn't see you guys."
"I take it you didn't see Sam either then?" Daniel asked.
Hailey's eyes widened along with her smile. "You found her? When?" She started looking around. "Major Carter, it's good to have you home!"
Sam turned and gave her a genuine smile. "Thank you, Hailey." She looked at the guys as Hailey headed off down the hall. "You won't get any coffee if we don't get there before Felger." At the mention of his coffee Daniel got moving causing her to grin.
As they entered the commissary Sam secured a table for them and as soon as Daniel came over with his tray she got in line. Picking out her food she paused at the desserts. There was no Jell-O left. Grabbing her drink she walked over to the table looking a little disappointed. When she set her tray down she noticed a glass of blue Jell-O sitting there. She looked over at the Colonel who smiled.
"I thought you might want some."
"Thank you, Sir." As they ate in relative silence, she felt the eyes of her friends on her. Looking up she saw their amused looks. "What?"
Looking at each other they seemed to pick a spokesman. Teal'c spoke softly, trying to avoid being overheard. "Your motherly condition seems to have improved you appetite."
It wasn't until then that she realized she had eaten over half her food already. Looking at the other trays she saw that they had eaten hardly anything yet. "Well, that's a bit embarrassing. I'm eating like I'm starved."
"You did say you were starving," the Colonel put in.
She cocked her head and gave him a quirky look.
As they finished their food Daniel finally broached the subject they'd been avoiding. "What do you want to do about…" he gestured toward her belly.
Noting the look on Sam's face the Colonel jumped in. "Look, Daniel, she doesn't have to figure it out yet."
All eyes turned to her, however, she spoke up. "I already know what I want to do." Before she could go any further the klaxons blared and Walter's voice announced an unscheduled off world activation.
"SG-1, report to the control room," the General's voice said over the speakers.
Without even picking up their trays they quickly left the room. As they entered the control room the General was speaking into the microphone. "What do you want now, Mr. Kalan?" He didn't even try to hide his annoyance at the man who had kidnapped and experimented on one of his officers.
"I still wish to trade with your people, but you took my merchandise."
The General glanced at the team behind him. The anger and indignation at his claims was obvious. He could tell Colonel O'Neill wanted to say something, but was holding his tongue. Motioning toward the microphone, he gave him the chance. "Colonel."
With a satisfied gleam in his eyes he stepped forward. "Major Carter is not your merchandise. She is a person and you kidnapped her and experimented on her against her will. You're fortunate we sent back to your planet rather than dealing with you here."
"I had to have something with which to trade," Kalan protested sounding whiney.
"If you hadn't taken her we could have traded for any number of things. You screwed up!" As he turned from the microphone he spotted Sam as she stared at him with a look he couldn't read yet.
"You didn't have to do that," she whispered to him as he stepped to stand next to her. "But thank you," she whispered with a smile. "He didn't believe me that you and the guys would be upset with him. He thought that you'd be so happy to have me home that you would give him anything he wanted without giving him any guff."
"Why did he do this?" Daniel asked as they sat around the briefing room table. The debriefing was very short, with the guys telling what happened after they saw she wasn't there and Sam telling what happened after she was taken away.
"He never told me, Daniel." Sam looked thoughtful as she stared at the small swell of her belly that was scarcely visible through her uniform shirt. Looking up at her friends and teammates, she saw the sad looks in their eyes. "I have an appointment with you, don't I, Janet?"
"Yes, for your first sono."
The General dismissed them and turned to Sam as she was getting ready to leave with Janet. "Do you want me to try to get a hold of Jacob?"
She froze in her tracks. "I'm not sure yet, Sir. To be honest, I hadn't even thought about that yet. I'd like to tell him myself."
"When you're ready tell me and we'll find him."
"Thank you, Sir," she said as she nodded.
Janet walked into her office to get her files. As she did she heard Sam talking to someone as she entered the infirmary. "The thing that worries me is the slight chance that the father he used might not be human. The thought of having an alien's baby is a little disconcerting. Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against aliens, but I would rather know them."
"I thought you told me he said he used a 'sample' from a human male he'd met while trading?"
Janet recognized Colonel O'Neill's voice easily. As she organized her notes she tried not to listen in, but since they obviously thought they were by themselves they weren't whispering.
"He insisted that it was, but how do I trust that coming from the man who tried to use me as a trading item?"
"Maybe we should find him and make sure he was telling the truth."
Janet walked in and smiled at the. "Ready, Sam?"
"Yes. Is it all right if Colonel O'Neill stays?"
The Colonel was obviously not expecting that, Janet thought as she saw the very touched look in his eyes. "If he wants to."
"Would you, Sir?"
Giving her a gentle smile he said, "I would be honored to."
Grinning, Janet went into the other room to get her gel.
"I know I didn't tell anybody else yet, but I'm keeping the baby, Sir." She looked at him expecting him to be surprised, but found him nodding.
"I thought so. Somehow, I didn't think you would give the baby up for adoption, even if it is an alien. I kind of figured you would want to raise the baby yourself. You'll make a great mom."
"Thank you. She smiled at him as Janet walked back in. "You found it I take it?"
"Yes, but it will be a little cold," she said as she pushed Sam's shirt just above her belly. "Here goes." As she squeezed the gel onto her skin she saw her friend flinch. "Sorry, I did say it was a little cold, Sam."
As the Colonel watched he couldn't keep from staring at the slight swell of her belly. It made him feel very special that she had wanted him to be par of this scene. His attention wandered to her face as Janet turned on the sono. She was looking at him. Feeling a little self conscious he grinned then followed her lead as she turned to look at the screen.
"Everything looks good, Sam." Janet moved the monitor around her belly to get a better view of the baby. As she glanced up at her two friends she couldn't help but grin. They both looked so entranced by the images of the baby. There were tears glistening in Sam's eyes, and she was almost sure there were some in the Colonel's eyes as well. "Would you like me to give you the pictures, Sam?"
Her eyes lit up. "Yes," she said with a smile. As she wiped the gel off of her belly Sam glanced up at the Colonel, who was trying to look the other way. When Janet walked over to give her the pictures she saw him glance at her. "Thank you, Janet."
"Don't forget I want you in here in a few days for another sono to keep an eye on the baby's growth. It's already the size of a four moth old fetus." She patted Sam's knee as she sat up.
"I'll be here, Janet." Without even thinking about it she took the hand that the Colonel offered her, to help her off the exam bed.
When he looked at their hands it dawned on him that he'd offered her a hand without even thinking about it. "Feel like getting something to eat?"
A/N: Hope you like it so far, other chapters coming soon. Don't forget that lovely little review button, and thanks for reading. Oz Lovi