General Jack O'Neill had lived through a lot. He had served his country, at home abroad and even on alien planets. He had seen torture, blood and guts and extreme suffering. He had died countless times, been taken over by aliens and endured more than he was ready or able to talk about. All in all he had experienced enough for ten lifetimes and had thought he was prepared for anything that life could throw at him.
But nothing had prepared him for this. He felt sick and the room was starting to spin. He tried taking slow deep breaths and concentrated on looking at the floor. There was no way he was going to succumb, not given the situation. His life would not be worth living and just as his life had never been better. He had finally settled down and with the woman who had been out of his reach for years. There was no way he was letting Sam down now.
At this thought he raised his eyes to where his wife lay. That was his mistake. The look of agony on her face was the final straw and his legs buckled beneath him as he slid gracelessly to the floor.
He stayed in an ungainly heap for only a few minutes before he groaned and started to come round, dreading what he would see.
His hasty glance around the room showed a figure looming over him, but over its shoulder he caught a glimpse of a very tired but smiling Sam. The figure beside him took his arm and helped him to his feet.
"Come on, Dad, it's all over now and you have a beautiful daughter."